Need Feedback Please! New and rewritten articles for Knowledge Base contributors

February 9, 2016, 2:00:01 AM PST

I completely rewrote/wrote these contributor training articles for the new contributor knowledge base. I need feedback on them. I've linked to the article history. Please click on the most recent version of each article and add any feedback you may have on the article discussion page. Thanks!

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/adding-screenshots/history

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-write-knowledge-base-articles/history

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/anatomy-of-a-knowledge-base-article/history

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-the-knowledge-base-works/history

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-use-for/history

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-use-templates/history

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/editing-article/history

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/article-description/history

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/style-guide/history

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/staging-site

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/article-history

I completely rewrote/wrote these contributor training articles for the new contributor knowledge base. I need feedback on them. I've linked to the article history. Please click on the most recent version of each article and add any feedback you may have on the article discussion page. Thanks! [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/adding-screenshots/history https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/adding-screenshots/history] [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-write-knowledge-base-articles/history https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-write-knowledge-base-articles/history] [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/anatomy-of-a-knowledge-base-article/history https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/anatomy-of-a-knowledge-base-article/history] [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-the-knowledge-base-works/history https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-the-knowledge-base-works/history] [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-use-for/history https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-use-for/history] [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-use-templates/history https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-use-templates/history] [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/editing-article/history https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/editing-article/history] [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/article-description/history https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/article-description/history] [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/style-guide/history https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/style-guide/history] [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/staging-site https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/staging-site] [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/article-history https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/article-history]

Artist 30 posts

February 9, 2016, 4:55:42 AM PST

Hi Lauren,

I did not look into every single one of your new resp. rewritten KB article yet, but I’d like to throw a few general aspects into the discussion and KB article process.

I fully understand that the sheer amount of information supplied by our recent articles on how to handle KB could scare new contributors. I also understand that some of the new contributors (if not all oft hem) might back off if they would have to work their way through a lenghty article first before they could even start contributing.

On the other hand, our existing articles describing how to handle KB articles contain such an amount of helpful, valuable and important information collected over the years, that I would find it absolutely wrong not to use this source of knowledge.

Also, I don’t think it will help new (and even experienced) contributors to spread this collective knowledge in dozens of small articles and nobody knows where to find those.

For me, the best solution would be: We have or create one basic article containing in short an overview of all the most important information new contributors must have to be able to start working without getting their work rejected.

This overview should then be followed by a TOC which will list all the links to the specific articles, which are filled with all the detailled information we have on this specific item. Of course, the title of this article should tell at one glance what it is about. Once again, to make sure we don’t overwhelm any reader by the sheer volume of information available these single articles should be broken up into an important information section at the top of the article and interesting available background information at the end of the article. This would ensure that all information is gathered together in the right place and can easily be found by everyone, regardless of being a brand new contributor or an experienced contributor who just wants to refresh his memory.

As an example (ranking order to be changed, of course):

TOC - All you need to know about our KB articles - Anatomy of our Knowledge Base articles - Information about article titles - Summary information - Use of for - Use of templates - Use of media (or media gallery) - Adding screenshots - Style guide - Section headers - Use of mark ups - A glossary (spelling of often-used words) - Special requirements on canned responses - Editing an article - Submitting an article - Rules on reviewing

Not sure if this fits into some strategic planning of how to handle KB articles, but since feedback was requested here it is and open for discussion.

Hi Lauren, I did not look into every single one of your new resp. rewritten KB article yet, but I’d like to throw a few general aspects into the discussion and KB article process. I fully understand that the sheer amount of information supplied by our recent articles on how to handle KB could scare new contributors. I also understand that some of the new contributors (if not all oft hem) might back off if they would have to work their way through a lenghty article first before they could even start contributing. On the other hand, our existing articles describing how to handle KB articles contain such an amount of helpful, valuable and important information collected over the years, that I would find it absolutely wrong not to use this source of knowledge. Also, I don’t think it will help new (and even experienced) contributors to spread this collective knowledge in dozens of small articles and nobody knows where to find those. For me, the best solution would be: We have or create one basic article containing in short an overview of all the most important information new contributors must have to be able to start working without getting their work rejected. This overview should then be followed by a TOC which will list all the links to the specific articles, which are filled with all the detailled information we have on this specific item. Of course, the title of this article should tell at one glance what it is about. Once again, to make sure we don’t overwhelm any reader by the sheer volume of information available these single articles should be broken up into an important information section at the top of the article and interesting available background information at the end of the article. This would ensure that all information is gathered together in the right place and can easily be found by everyone, regardless of being a brand new contributor or an experienced contributor who just wants to refresh his memory. As an example (ranking order to be changed, of course): TOC - All you need to know about our KB articles - Anatomy of our Knowledge Base articles - Information about article titles - Summary information - Use of for - Use of templates - Use of media (or media gallery) - Adding screenshots - Style guide - Section headers - Use of mark ups - A glossary (spelling of often-used words) - Special requirements on canned responses - Editing an article - Submitting an article - Rules on reviewing Not sure if this fits into some strategic planning of how to handle KB articles, but since feedback was requested here it is and open for discussion.

AliceWyman 6437 posts

February 9, 2016, 7:42:48 PM PST

Laucon left out a link to this new "Contribute to Mozilla" article she created, https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/contribute-mozilla ... which links to all the others.

Right now, existing contributor documentation is listed in the Improve the Knowledge Base [*] article. (To Laucon or Joni: do you plan to make any revisions to this article or to archive it? I think it would be better to revise it instead, by updating it with content from the new Improve the Knowledge Base article.) [*] _{I see that someone deleted the new "Contribute to Mozilla" article and then renamed the existing "Improve the Knowledge Base" article to "Contribute to Mozilla".}

I'm also concerned that valuable information will be lost. For example, the About the Knowledge Base [*] article provides a complete overview with the following Table of Contents: [*] _{Someone just renamed the "How the Knowledge Base works" article to "Knowledge Base Dashboard".}

The Knowledge Base is a wiki with super powers
Audience & scope of the Knowledge Base
Organizing our work
- How do we prioritize what we work on?
- Where do we talk about articles?
- How do we keep articles up to date with the latest version of Mozilla's products?
  - Doc Cycle Weeks 1 - 4
  - Doc Cycle Weeks 5 & 6
- How do I keep up with what's going on?
Improving articles
- What is the process for editing an article?
- Creating a new article
- Style
- Markup
- {for}
- Templates
- Screenshots & Screencasts
Adding and removing articles
- Proposing new articles
- Archiving articles
Article review guidelines

Laucon has a revision pending to replace its content with a description of the Knowledge Base Dashboard. Here's the diff.[*] I posted a discussion to that article's kbforum to say that a new article should have been written about the KB Dashboard. [*] _{Due to the rename, the diff is now here.}

P.S. I added "New and rewritten articles for Knowledge Base contributors" to the thread title.

Laucon left out a link to this new "Contribute to Mozilla" article she created, https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/contribute-mozilla ... which links to all the others. Right now, existing contributor documentation is listed in the [[Improve the Knowledge Base]] [*] article. ('''To Laucon or Joni''': do you plan to make any revisions to this article or to archive it? I think it would be better to revise it instead, by updating it with content from the new [[Contribute to Mozilla]] article.) [*] I see that someone deleted the new "Contribute to Mozilla" article and then renamed the existing "Improve the Knowledge Base" article to "Contribute to Mozilla". I'm also concerned that valuable information will be lost. For example, the [[How the Knowledge Base works]] [*] article provides a complete overview with the following Table of Contents: [*] Someone just renamed the "How the Knowledge Base works" article to "Knowledge Base Dashboard". *The Knowledge Base is a wiki with super powers *Audience & scope of the Knowledge Base *Organizing our work **How do we prioritize what we work on? **Where do we talk about articles? **How do we keep articles up to date with the latest version of Mozilla's products? *** Doc Cycle Weeks 1 - 4 ***Doc Cycle Weeks 5 & 6 **How do I keep up with what's going on? *Improving articles **What is the process for editing an article? **Creating a new article ** Style **Markup **{for} **Templates **Screenshots & Screencasts *Adding and removing articles **Proposing new articles **Archiving articles *Article review guidelines ----- Laucon has a revision pending to replace its content with a description of the Knowledge Base Dashboard. [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-the-knowledge-base-works/compare?locale=en-US&to=116641&from=82192 Here's the diff].[*] I posted a discussion to that article's kbforum to say that a new article should have been written about the KB Dashboard. [*] Due to the rename, the diff is now [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/knowledge-base-dashboard/compare?locale=en-US&to=116641&from=82192 here]. P.S. I added "New and rewritten articles for Knowledge Base contributors" to the thread title.

Modified by AliceWyman on February 12, 2016, 4:48:27 AM PST

AliceWyman 6437 posts

February 9, 2016, 8:51:53 PM PST

Another article I'm concerned about losing valuable information is Writing guide for Knowledge Base articles, [*] which is our current writing style guide and is linked from the Mozilla Style Guide for copy rules and the Mozilla Style Guide for "copy tone".

As you can see in this diff, the pending revision replaces the current writing guide with content explaining the mechanics of creating a new KB article. As I wrote in that article's discussion forum, I think Laucon meant to update Create a new Knowledge Base article instead.

[*] _{"How to write Knowledge Base articles" was renamed (by Laucon) to "Writing a New Article" so the difference showing the proposed changes is now here.}

_{Lauren wrote her own Style Guide as a new document. I asked where was the background for the new style guide in the article discussion forums here and here but neither Lauren nor Joni replied.}

Another article I'm concerned about losing valuable information is [[How to write Knowledge Base articles]], [*] which is our current writing style guide and is linked from the [https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/styleguide/communications/copy-rules Mozilla Style Guide for copy rules] and the [https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/styleguide/communications/copy-tone/ Mozilla Style Guide for "copy tone"]. As you can see in [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-write-knowledge-base-articles/compare?locale=en-US&to=116649&from=115607 this diff], the pending revision replaces the current writing guide with content explaining the mechanics of creating a new KB article. As I wrote in that article's discussion forum, I think Laucon meant to update [[Create a new Knowledge Base article]] instead. [*] "How to write Knowledge Base articles" was renamed (by Laucon) to "Writing a New Article" so the difference showing the proposed changes is now [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/writing-new-article/compare?locale=en-US&to=116649&from=115607 here]. Lauren wrote her own [[Style Guide]] as a new document. I asked where was the background for the new style guide in the article discussion forums [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/writing-new-article/discuss here] and [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/style-guide/discuss here] but neither Lauren nor Joni replied.

Modified by AliceWyman on February 14, 2016, 4:41:09 AM PST

Laucon 18 posts

February 9, 2016, 11:58:10 PM PST

Thank you guys for your thorough analysis. You make excellent points. Artist, I completely agree with you that all the articles should be in one place and should be easy to find. I am going to structure the articles using a sort of table of contents similar to what you put there. As Alice pointed out, [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/.../contribute-mozilla] is the article that leads to all others. Alice, I understand your concerns. I'll ask Joni about the current style guide. But I think we just need to move forward with a new training guide because the old one doesn't seem to be working.

Thank you guys for your thorough analysis. You make excellent points. Artist, I completely agree with you that all the articles should be in one place and should be easy to find. I am going to structure the articles using a sort of table of contents similar to what you put there. As Alice pointed out, [[https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/contribute-mozilla|https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/contribute-mozilla]] is the article that leads to all others. Alice, I understand your concerns. I'll ask Joni about the current style guide. But I think we just need to move forward with a new training guide because the old one doesn't seem to be working.

John99 3665 posts

February 10, 2016, 3:51:28 AM PST

I would also add that the new root document is entitled contribute to mozilla {/kb/contribute-mozilla/history

The article only relates to the kb it does not have content about the other methods of contributing to Mozilla. We have existing articles including

Contributor News & Resources
- How to contribute to article localization
- Answering questions on the Support Forum
- /army-of-awesome Information page but not a kb article
  AFAIK Admins did not even write or approve any official guidelines on AoA
- and the already mentioned Improve the Knowledge Base

There is also the series of articles probably not really finished as listed in

Contributor Quality Training Conclusion
- With its now archived Introduction to Contributor Quality Training
And just to add to the confusion a series of articles at branch of QMO which generally link back to the Sumo kb and seem to list the contributors who completed the tasks e.g..
- SUMO - Answer your first question https://oneanddone.mozilla.org/tasks/122/
- SUMO - Get set up and use the platform https://oneanddone.mozilla.org/tasks/120/

I would also add that the new root document is entitled [[contribute to mozilla]] {[/kb/contribute-mozilla/history] The article '''only''' relates to the '''kb''' it does not have content about the '''other methods of contributing''' to Mozilla. We have existing articles including * [[Contributor News & Resources]] ** [[Localize Mozilla Support]] **[[Answering questions on the Support Forum]] **[/army-of-awesome] Information page but not a kb article AFAIK Admins did not even write or approve any official guidelines on AoA **and the already mentioned '''[[Improve the Knowledge Base]]''' ------- There is also the series of articles probably not really finished as listed in * [[Contributor Quality Training Conclusion]] ** With its now archived [[Introduction to Contributor Quality Training]] *And just to add to the confusion a series of articles at branch of QMO which generally link back to the Sumo kb and seem to list the contributors who completed the tasks e.g.. ** '''''SUMO - Answer your first question''''' https://oneanddone.mozilla.org/tasks/122/ ** SUMO - Get set up and use the platform https://oneanddone.mozilla.org/tasks/120/

Laucon 18 posts

February 10, 2016, 3:57:53 AM PST

Thanks John. That is correct.

John99 3665 posts

February 10, 2016, 5:14:40 AM PST

I imagine you will be considering either basing the new article on the existing Improve the Knowledge Base; or expanding it to cover other areas of Sumo contributions. The latter option would be a mammoth task.

I imagine you will be considering either basing the new article on the existing [[Improve the Knowledge Base]]; or expanding it to cover other areas of Sumo contributions. The latter option would be a mammoth task.

Laucon 18 posts

February 10, 2016, 5:19:19 AM PST

Joni and I discussed this. We are getting rid of the current content on Improve the Knowledge Base. Once published, the link to that web page will be a table of contents leading to the rest of the training guide.

John99 3665 posts

February 10, 2016, 5:30:11 AM PST

I guess one point I was trying to make was to use the title Improve the Knowledge Base or some other title like Contribute to the Mozilla Knowledge Base but not the current Contribute to Mozilla

I guess one point I was trying to make was to use the title ''Improve the Knowledge Base'' or some other title like ''Contribute to the Mozilla Knowledge Base'' but not the current ''Contribute to Mozilla''

John99 3665 posts

February 10, 2016, 6:10:27 AM PST

You have done a lot of work. Rather a lot for me to take in all at once, but I wonder if information is missing, and wonder if there could be issues with for instance

Encouraging contributors to write articles that will be unnecessary or unsuitable ?
- Lack of discussion ?
  Do we mention that with any proposed article or series of articles is a good idea to start discussions as early as possible, preferably before commencing writing.
Firefox Android etc. ?
Localistion freeze ?
So we do not antagonise fellow overworked contributors.
- See (ATTN ADMIN} Please, please, please, stop updating the same articles. )

Sorry I did only very quickly read the articles so I may well have missed things. I was rather surprised to see a complete rewrite suddenly appear but it seems you are wanting to move quickly.

You have done a lot of work. Rather a lot for me to take in all at once, but I wonder if information is missing, and wonder if there could be issues with for instance * Encouraging contributors to write articles that will be unnecessary or unsuitable ? ** Lack of discussion ? Do we mention that with any proposed article or series of articles is a good idea to start discussions as early as possible, preferably before commencing writing. * Firefox Android etc. ? * Localistion freeze ? So we do not antagonise fellow overworked contributors. **See [/forums/l10n-forum/711618 (ATTN ADMIN} Please, please, please, stop updating the same articles. ] ) Sorry I did only very quickly read the articles so I may well have missed things. I was rather surprised to see a complete rewrite suddenly appear but it seems you are wanting to move quickly.

Chris Ilias 2450 posts

February 10, 2016, 7:27:44 AM PST

Laucon said

Joni and I discussed this. We are getting rid of the current content on Improve the Knowledge Base. Once published, the link to that web page will be a table of contents leading to the rest of the training guide.

Could you please document the plan somewhere, then link to it when submitting your edits? I don't know how much wiki.mozilla.org is used anymore, but that's where I would document it.

''Laucon [[#post-68233|said]]'' <blockquote> Joni and I discussed this. We are getting rid of the current content on Improve the Knowledge Base. Once published, the link to that web page will be a table of contents leading to the rest of the training guide. </blockquote> Could you please document the plan somewhere, then link to it when submitting your edits? I don't know how much wiki.mozilla.org is used anymore, but that's where I would document it.

Laucon 18 posts

February 10, 2016, 7:42:12 AM PST

I linked to the articles up above. I don't know how to link a whole plan. I put the information in the last SUMO meeting dashboard. But here are the links to the articles again. I'll try and make it clearer. These articles have not been published/updated, so to see each article, you need to look at the history and click my last update.

This is the TOC article that links to all others: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/improve-knowledge-base/history

This article shows you how to write articles: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-write-knowledge-base-articles/history

This article shows you how the KB dashboard works: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-the-knowledge-base-works/history

This article shows you an article's anatomy: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/anatomy-of-a-knowledge-base-article/history

This article shows you how to edit article: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/editing-article/history

This article describes article categories and descriptions: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/article-description/history

This article explains how to use For: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-use-for/history

This article explains how to use templates: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-use-for/history

This is the style guide: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/style-guide/history

This explains how to search through an article's history: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/article-history/history

This article explains how to take screenshots: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/adding-screenshots/history

This article talks about the staging site: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/staging-site/history

I'm going to write one more article. It will be about article discussions.

I linked to the articles up above. I don't know how to link a whole plan. I put the information in the last SUMO meeting dashboard. But here are the links to the articles again. I'll try and make it clearer. These articles have not been published/updated, so to see each article, you need to look at the history and click my last update. This is the TOC article that links to all others: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/improve-knowledge-base/history This article shows you how to write articles: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-write-knowledge-base-articles/history This article shows you how the KB dashboard works: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-the-knowledge-base-works/history This article shows you an article's anatomy: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/anatomy-of-a-knowledge-base-article/history This article shows you how to edit article: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/editing-article/history This article describes article categories and descriptions: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/article-description/history This article explains how to use For: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-use-for/history This article explains how to use templates: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-use-for/history This is the style guide: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/style-guide/history This explains how to search through an article's history: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/article-history/history This article explains how to take screenshots: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/adding-screenshots/history This article talks about the staging site: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/staging-site/history I'm going to write one more article. It will be about article discussions.

AliceWyman 6437 posts

February 10, 2016, 8:20:53 AM PST

I think Chris is asking for documentation of the plan for a "training guide" that you and Joni are working on. Yes, you linked to the articles above and in the https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/sumo-2016-02-08 Community Meeting notes.

I checked earlier notes and I found this posted in https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/sumo-2016-01-25 under Knowledge Base:

Lauren and Joni are working to create a training guide to teach incoming tech writers to write articles.

I also found this posted at https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/sumo-2016-02-01

While I (Lauren) continue to write articles for the tranining site, I'm also adding bits of code to the new article page that I hope might be activated.

What's the background? What's the "training site" and who are these incoming tech writers? Will they be Mozilla employees? Interns?

I think Chris is asking for documentation of the plan for a "training guide" that you and Joni are working on. Yes, you linked to the articles above and in the https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/sumo-2016-02-08 Community Meeting notes. I checked earlier notes and I found this posted in https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/sumo-2016-01-25 under Knowledge Base: *Lauren and Joni are working to create a training guide to teach incoming tech writers to write articles. I also found this posted at https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/sumo-2016-02-01 *While I (Lauren) continue to write articles for the tranining site, I'm also adding bits of code to the new article page that I hope might be activated. What's the background? What's the "training site" and who are these incoming tech writers? Will they be Mozilla employees? Interns?

Modified by AliceWyman on February 10, 2016, 8:34:22 AM PST

Laucon 18 posts

February 10, 2016, 8:31:18 AM PST

These incoming technical writers are virtually any volunteer who signs up to be a Mozillian volunteer in SUMO and says that they want to contribute to SUMO. Many answer questions in forums but don't write articles because learning how to do so has been too confusing. So I'm creating this training guide so that when someone new pops up in the forums and says, "Hey! I want to help!" they will be directed to this guide.

John99 3665 posts

February 10, 2016, 8:34:14 AM PST

If we are aiming at fully fledged tech writers we should probably also include information on researching new and changed Firefox features, something Like Verdi's technical writing project some while ago.

Laucon 18 posts

February 10, 2016, 8:37:32 AM PST

I wouldn't say that we're aiming at full fledged tech writers. We're aiming at people who want to dabble in tech writing and try their hand at writing articles.

AliceWyman 6437 posts

February 10, 2016, 8:56:36 AM PST

I did a google search and found: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Outreachy

Lauren Conrad

Participant: Lauren Conrad

Based in: Rye Brook, New York USA. (For anyone who doesn't know, that's a suburb right outside New York City!)

Mentor: Joni Savage

"I am thrilled to be working for such a well known company and to be translating my writing skills into the tech world."

Project: SUMO - Build a tutorial or training tool for new technical writers

To Lauren or Joni: Is there anything else being planned besides an overhaul of the current Knowledge Base contributor documentation? For example, Michael Verdi set up a Technical Writing program _{<--NOW CLOSED, as clearly stated in the linked article} where he (and other SUMO staff?) mentored KB contributors.

I did a google search and found: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Outreachy ----- Lauren Conrad Participant: [https://mozillians.org/en-US/u/laurenconrad1993/ Lauren Conrad] Based in: Rye Brook, New York USA. (For anyone who doesn't know, that's a suburb right outside New York City!) Mentor: Joni Savage "I am thrilled to be working for such a well known company and to be translating my writing skills into the tech world." Project: [https://wiki.mozilla.org/Outreachy/2016/December_to_March#SUMO_-_Build_a_tutorial_or_training_tool_for_new_technical_writers SUMO - Build a tutorial or training tool for new technical writers] ----- '''To Lauren or Joni:''' Is there anything else being planned besides an overhaul of the current Knowledge Base contributor documentation? For example, Michael Verdi set up a [[Technical Writing program]] <--NOW CLOSED, as clearly stated in the linked article where he (and other SUMO staff?) mentored KB contributors.

Modified by AliceWyman on February 10, 2016, 9:38:48 AM PST

Laucon 18 posts

February 10, 2016, 9:05:53 AM PST

I have been unaware of this program from Michael Verdi. The link to the Michael Verdi technical writing program very clearly states this:

Important: The Technical Writing Program is currently closed, but you are welcome to contribute to the knowledge base as a volunteer. As a volunteer, your profile will list your contributions and badges you've earned. See Improve the Knowledge Base to get started.

So Joni and I are trying to create a training guide for new volunteers. We've been doing an excellent job so far and several other users I've talked to seem to think so.

I talked to Joni if as to whether she planned to work with another intern for the upcoming Outreachy program, but the answer is probably not.

Just to clarify who I am and what I'm doing, I am the SUMO Outreachy intern (one of about seven or eight other interns in various Mozilla departments) and I was hired for a set three month period to create this training guide. I'm absolutely receiving invaluable experience and learning as well as a small stipend. You can find out more about the program on Outreachy.org if you want to. The information about the program is very public.

I have been unaware of this program from Michael Verdi. The link to the Michael Verdi technical writing program very clearly states this: Important: The Technical Writing Program is currently closed, but you are welcome to contribute to the knowledge base as a volunteer. As a volunteer, your profile will list your contributions and badges you've earned. See Improve the Knowledge Base to get started. So Joni and I are trying to create a training guide for new volunteers. We've been doing an excellent job so far and several other users I've talked to seem to think so. I talked to Joni if as to whether she planned to work with another intern for the upcoming Outreachy program, but the answer is probably not. Just to clarify who I am and what I'm doing, I am the SUMO Outreachy intern (one of about seven or eight other interns in various Mozilla departments) and I was hired for a set three month period to create this training guide. I'm absolutely receiving invaluable experience and learning as well as a small stipend. You can find out more about the program on Outreachy.org if you want to. The information about the program is very public.

Chris Ilias 2450 posts

February 10, 2016, 9:18:22 AM PST

AliceWyman said

What's the background? What's the "training site" and who are these incoming tech writers? Will they be Mozilla employees? Interns?

More the first question than the other two. A document that answers the questions: Why is all of this being done? What are the issues with the current documentation being solved by this plan? Overall, what changes are being made to improve the contributor docs? Not "see the diff", but a TL;DR that outlines what is being done in those diffs.

Personally, I don't care who they are and if they're employees.

That document can act as a reference for anyone to help execute the plan, and give feedback on each change.

Lastly, what is the metric being used to judge whether these changes are a success?

''AliceWyman [[#post-68241|said]]'' <blockquote> What's the background? What's the "training site" and who are these incoming tech writers? Will they be Mozilla employees? Interns? </blockquote> More the first question than the other two. A document that answers the questions: Why is all of this being done? What are the issues with the current documentation being solved by this plan? Overall, what changes are being made to improve the contributor docs? Not "see the diff", but a TL;DR that outlines what is being done in those diffs. Personally, I don't care who they are and if they're employees. That document can act as a reference for anyone to help execute the plan, and give feedback on each change. Lastly, what is the metric being used to judge whether these changes are a success?

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