The Mozilla Support Knowledge Base (KB) is the foundation that makes our entire support effort scale to serve hundreds of millions of users. But articles don't come without a cost. Each one has to be written, reviewed, localized and maintained.

For that reason, thoughtful content management is essential. Before adding new content or modifying visibility, please review the guidelines below.

Content ownership and discretion

Most SUMO content falls under the discretion of the Content team within Customer Experience (CX).

The following categories are exceptions and are managed by the Community team:

• How to contribute
• Canned responses

These areas are owned by the Community team to ensure alignment with contributor workflows and practices. To learn more about each team and their roles, please check out the Meet the Team article.

As such, updates to the How to contribute or Canned responses articles are managed directly by the Community team and are exempt from the standard content workflow.

Adding and archiving articles

Proposing new articles

In many cases, improving or expanding an existing article is more effective than creating a new one.

Net new articles should only be created under one of the following conditions:

• The topic is not already covered in existing SUMO documentation.
• The article serves to clarify new or existing information that is insufficient or unclear to users, or is anticipated to be technically advanced enough to influence support volume.
  • Some user-facing features are likely to generate a lot of interest and questions from users. This may be an inherent aspect of the feature, a result of marketing and in-product links, or a combination of the two.
• There is a new, complex issue with one of our products that has surfaced frequently in recent threads and votes in the support forum.
  • This can include critical, time-sensitive issues that need temporary documentation (e.g., Firefox startup crash with G DATA security software).
• The article is explicitly required by a Mozilla staff member, or is required as part of release readiness work.

Archiving articles

To ensure our Knowledge Base remains focused on the most current and pressing user inquiries, we periodically review and archive articles that no longer reflect the latest versions of Mozilla products or services user concerns. Archiving is not the end of an article; it's a way to signal that the content might be outdated or less relevant to our current user base, while still preserving its historical value and access for those who might need it.

How it works

Staff and contributors with reviewer privileges can mark an article as obsolete. This is how it is done:

• Visit the article page and click on the Edit Article Metadata menu under Editing Tools.
• Mark the article as Obsolete by adding a checkmark to it.
• Click the Save button.

An archived article is removed from all dashboards, including localization dashboards, and it won't appear in normal search results. However, any existing direct links to the article will still work. A banner will be displayed at the top of the article to inform readers that it is no longer being maintained and might be out of date. Archiving is reversible. Should the need arise, contributors can revisit the Edit Article Metadata page and uncheck the Obsolete option, bringing the article back into active status.

Considerations before archiving

• Low views: Articles attracting less than 1500 visits per month are candidates for archiving.
• Few recent reports: The lack of recent threads or votes in the support forum suggests the article addresses a lesser concern.
• Low impact: Articles whose removal is unlikely to cause significant issues.
• Product changes: Articles related to issues that have been resolved or features that have changed significantly.

Guidelines for archiving KB articles

When deciding to archive an article, consider the following to ensure the decision aligns with the best interests of our user base and the accuracy of our Knowledge Base:

• Obsolescence and irrelevance: Articles should be archived if the content is no longer relevant to the current versions of Mozilla products or services. For details, see Firefox version support policy for Knowledge Base content.
• Redundancy: Content that has been superseded by more comprehensive articles or duplicated across multiple articles without adding unique value should be archived to streamline the knowledge base.
• Historical content: Articles that serve more as a historical record rather than providing practical, current support may be archived to keep the active knowledge base focused on user support.

Restrict visibility

The Restrict Visibility feature is a recent addition aimed at enhancing the flexibility of content management within the SUMO platform. It allows specific articles to be visible only to designated groups, such as staff members or certain contributors, enabling the distribution of sensitive or early-stage content in a controlled manner.

How it works

Staff and contributors with KB reviewer privileges can restrict an article so that it is only visible to specific user groups.

To restrict an article's visibility:

1. Click Edit article metadata in the right sidebar of the article.
2. Under Restrict visibility, select the groups that should have access to the article. In the example below, access is limited to Administrators and Knowledge Base Reviewers.

   

3. Click Save at the bottom of the page to save the article setting.

Once restricted, the article will only be accessible to the selected groups. It will no longer appear in public search results or dashboards, but users with the appropriate access can still open it through a direct link.

Adjust article's visibility

Visibility restrictions can be changed or removed at any time. Staff and contributors with the appropriate permissions can adjust this setting.

To update an article's visibility, go to Edit article metadata, adjust the groups under Restrict visibility, and click Save.

Reasons for restricting an article visibility

Article visibility may be restricted for several reasons:

• Pre-release content: Visibility is often restricted when an article covers a product or feature that isn't ready to be announced publicly, such as a feature under embargo until a specific date. In these cases, the restriction is usually temporary and should be removed when the information becomes public.
• Content intended for a specific audience: Restricting visibility allows us to share information with specific groups within the community, such as NDA contributors or locale leaders, without making it publicly available.
• Sensitive or confidential information: An article may contain information that can't yet be shared publicly due to confidentiality, security, or other sensitivity concerns.

Staff and contributors with permission to restrict article visibility should also consider the potential impact on users, particularly if the article has previously been publicly available or linked from support forum responses. If restricting the article would prevent users from accessing information they still need, consider whether another approach could address the concern without removing access entirely.