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sumo buddy program help new contributors

This article is an overview for the Mozilla Support Buddy Program.

It can be tough being a new contributor. There are many different opportunities, working with people from around the world and much more. The buddy program aims to help new contributors to Mozilla get started in the fastest and most fun way possible, using a buddy to guide them. By matching a new contributor (or as we like to call them, trainees) to an experienced one, trainees can learn the in's and out's of sumo, along with the culture of the Mozilla community. __TOC__ =Who is the buddy program aimed at?= The program is aimed at contributors who are new to Mozilla, but Mozillians who wish to get involved with support are also welcome. =Becoming a buddy= To take part in the program as a buddy, simply contact yalam96 on IRC or through SUMO. =Milestones= Buddies use milestones to track the progress of their trainees. For each area of sumo, there are 3 milestones, and when trainees have reached the third milestone, they are considered to have completed that area and do not need any more guidance for it. Once they have reached the third milestone for all the areas they would like to contribute in, they are considered to have completed the program. It is expected to take around one month to reach the third milestone for any particular area. =Buddies= Buddies are experienced contributors who have signed up to help trainees. This section contains information buddies may find useful. ==Contacting a trainee== # If a trainee has responded to the form and you have chosen to be their buddy, contact them through PM on sumo using the canned response (to be created) # Decide on a method of contact with your trainee. IRC is probably the easiest option, but it's not popular among users and also there may be timezone issues. It's always best to start off with PM's on SUMO. That said, IRC is a core part of Mozilla - Teaching your trainee to use IRC will be beneficial to them. # Ask them which areas of SUMO they would like to contribute to. If they want to contribute to many areas, ask them which one they want to start with. If they are new to Mozilla, it's recommended to start with one area, and then start with another once they are comfortable (perhaps after they have completed the first or second milestone from the first area). {note}'''Note:''' If there is no response from the trainee within a week of contacting them, mark them as "Did not reply" on the spreadsheet, and choose a new trainee.{/note} ==Working with your trainee== There are two ways you can work with your trainee. Both have their up's and down's and choosing the best one depends on each buddy. ===Synchronous=== You could decide on one or two days per week at a set time to work together, through IRC or any other instant form of communication. It would be recommended to split the below checklists into different sessions. [https://wiki.mozilla.org/IRC This] is a very good guide for getting onto Mozilla's IRC network. ===Asynchronous=== If you are working with your trainee through email or PM, it may be easier to write a brief walkthough on the sections below, and then set tasks for a week, then answer any questions the trainee may have. Remember, trainees (probably) have lives outside of Mozilla, so don't set them too much work. ==Buddy areas== For the program, we have split SUMO into four different sections. Below you can find an overview for each section which includes a buddy checklist and useful links. * [https://support.mozilla.org/kb/buddy-program-forum-overview/history Support Forum] * [https://support.mozilla.org/kb/buddy-program-kb-overview/history Knowledge Base] * [https://support.mozilla.org/kb/buddy-program-l10n/history Localization] * [https://support.mozilla.org/army-of-awesome Army of Awesome]