Slides and notes from Ali Spivaks presentation on Building and Maintaining Technical Communities @ FOSDEM

1. Introduce
yourself!
0

2. I’m
here
today
to
talk
about
one
part
of
the
Mozilla
community;
the
volunteers
who
contribute
to
The
Mozilla
Developer
Network
(MDN).
MDN
is
an
open-­‐source
documentaEon
wiki
for
web
developer.
WriGen
by
a
community
of
developers
and
writers.
Or
would
that
be
writer-­‐developers?
Developer-­‐writers?
Anyways;
1

3. MDN
documentaEon
covers
standards
&
technologies
that
build
the
web:
HTML,
CSS,
Javascript.
Canvas.
SVG.
Mobile
&
HTML5
Apps.
We
also
write
developer-­‐centric
documentaEon
for
Mozilla
products.
MDN
scope
&
size:
• 3.3
million
users/month
• 35
languages
• over
11k
documents
&
growing
all
the
Eme
• 5
paid
writers
• Awesome
volunteer
contributors
who
do
amazing
things.
Our
community
consists
of
people
who
love
the
web
and
feel
passionately
that
keeping
it
open
and
accessible
to
all
is
important.
The
web
is
big
&
constantly
evolving,
Standards
are
updated.
There
is
a
lot
to
document.
Mozilla’s
paid
staff
couldn’t
keep
up
without
the
help
of
volunteers
contribuEng
edits
to
the
site.
2

4. On
MDN,
community
enables
us
to
“punch
above
our
weight”
• 5
paid
writers,
plus
1
community
manager,
plus
1
manager
• 2-­‐3
part-­‐Eme
paid
contractors
• 225
core
volunteers
(contribute
weekly
over
the
course
of
several
months)
• 750+
acEve
contributors
(at
least
one
edit
a
month)
• 1,500
occasional
contributors
(monthly)
• 5k
registered
users
(have
made
one
edit)
• 3+m
users,
who
I
hope
will
eventually
join
and
share
their
experEse.
What
does
the
MDN
community
do?
Write,
edit,
localize,
tag
content.
Technical
and
editorial
reviews.
Contribute
code
to
our
proprietary
wiki
plaborm.
Upload
demos
and
code
samples.
Speak
about
Mozilla
at
events.
Hold
MDN
events
for
developers
–
documentaEon
and
localizaEon
sprints.
Help
us
be
more
accessible.
Just
as
–
or
more-­‐
importantly,
our
community
provide
diversity
and
different
perspecEves.
Not
all
MDN
editors
are
part
of
Mozilla
–
we
have
contributors
from
Google
and
other
companies.
60%
of
people
who
use
MDN
use
Chrome.
We
provide
a
resoruce
for
the
web,
and
for
web
developers
that
speaks
to
that
passion
for
the
open
web.
3

5. We’ve
seen
preGy
tremendous
growth
on
MDN
in
the
last
few
years.
Looking
at
the
graph,
at
the
end
of
it’s
first
year
(2005)
MDN
had
174
contributors.
Growth.
Plaborm
changes
were
implemented
that
caused
a
lot
of
issues
for
the
L10n
community.
–
as
a
result
at
the
start
of
2010,
there
were
only
163.
At
the
lowest
point,
editors
were
down
to
97
(less
that
at
launch).
Efforts
to
make
improvements
–
such
as
documentaEon
sprints,
started
contribuEons
going
back
up,
but
they
hovered
around
250
for
several
years
unEl
the
kuma
launch
in
mid-­‐2012
(that
is
the
big
spike
you
see).
Kuma
fixed
many
localizaEon
issues,
and
statrd
to
accelerate
contribuEon
growth.
Amer
kuma,
we
did
a
full
site
redesign,
and
increased
our
outreach
and
community
building
efforts,
including
brining
on
a
full-­‐Eme
community
manager
–
although
all
of
the
MDN
paid
staff
are
responsible
for
helping
our
community.
.
End
2012:
360
End
2013:
585
End
2014:
751
4

6. There
is
a
subtle,
but
important
difference
between
contribuEon
and
community.
They
overlap,
but
they
are
not
necessarily
the
same.
ContribuEon
/
contributors
do
work
on
the
site.
CommuniEes
parEcipate
with
each
other.
We
have
a
lot
of
people
who
contribute
without
being
part
of
our
community.
Too
omen,
we
refer
to
community
and
contributors
as
interchangeable,
but
that
only
tells
part
of
the
story.
Many
people
edit
on
MDN
in
relaEve
silence
–
they
aren’t
on
the
mailing
list,
they
don’t
chat
on
IRC,
they
don’t
aGend
events.
PERSONAL
STORY:
FISL
in
Porto
Allegre,
in
Southerm
Brazil.
Held
a
localizaEon
sprint
&
70
people
showed
up.
Introduced
MDN
and
gave
a
quick
introducEon
to
how
to
edit.
AGendees
asking
“it
is
that
easy””
was
thrilling.
The
big
smiles
and
enthusiasm
were
infecEous.
Many
guys
brought
their
girlfriends,
halfway
through
the
day
the
girls
had
pulled
the
laptops
away
and
were
translaEng.
Translated
200
docs.
I
was
so
happy.
We’d
brought
in
all
of
these
new
contributors!
Female
contributors!
It
was
awesome
&
exhilaraEng.
However,
they
didn’t
become
part
of
our
community.
This
was
a
flaw
in
the
system
–
being
focused
on
contribuEon
made
me
overlook
that
to
keep
them
contribuEng
they
needed
to
be
part
of
a
community
that
could
provide
moEvaEon
for
them
to
stay.
5

7. Why
do
we
care?
There
is
a
lot
of
science
that
shows
being
part
of
a
community
–
and
I’m
using
this
word
broadly
–
benefits
humans.
We
are
happier
within
our
tribes.
Those
communiEes
can
be
family,
friends,
interests.
Many
people
in
open
source
feel
they
are
working
with
their
friends
–
shared
passion
build
community,
a
feeling
of
closeness
an
shared
purpose
that
is
good
for
us
as
humans.
And
it
benefits
the
projects
as
well
–
the
more
connected
people
are,
the
more
passionate
they
tend
to
be.
Because,
really,
what
drives
people
to
devote
their
free
Eme
to
wriEng
or
coding
stuff
they
don’t
get
paid
for?
6

8. ScienEfic
studies
find
there
is
a
powerful
and
significant
difference
between
extrinsic
moEvaEon,
the
kind
that
comes
from
outside
sources,
and
intrinsic
moEvaEon,
the
kind
that
comes
from
within
yourself.
Beyond
a
certain
level
(providing
for
basic
needs)
money,
which
is
extrinsic,
isn’t
the
most
powerful
or
effecEve
moEvator.
In
fact,
extrinsic
moEvators
may
have
a
negaEve
effect
in
the
long
run.
In
a
1974
study
Green
&
Lepper
rewarded
children
for
drawing
with
felt-­‐Ep
pens
(the
children
drew
before
with
great
enjoyment).
The
surprising
result?
Amer
receiving
rewards
for
the
acEvity,
the
children
showed
liGle
to
no
interest
in
drawing
with
the
pens.
The
extrinsic
moEvaEon
replaced
any
intrinsic
moEvaEon,
thereby
diminishing
the
innate
enjoyment
of
the
acEvity.
What
moEvates
volunteers?
A
sense
of
belonging.
The
opportunity
to
share
experEse.
Learning
from
and
with
others.
Being
part
of
something
bigger.
Something
important.
The
exposure
to
new
ideas,
resources,
and
experiences.
Having
more
impact
than
they
would
by
themselves.
7

9. A
great
book
about
moEvaEon,
Drive,
by
Dan
Pink,
explains
theories
of
what
drives
people:
Autonomy
–
the
desire
to
direct
our
own
lives.
2.
Mastery
—
the
urge
to
get
beGer
and
beGer
at
something
that
maGers.
3.
Purpose
—
the
yearning
to
do
what
we
do
in
the
service
of
something
larger
than
ourselves.
This
applies
outside
of
documentaEon,
open
source,
or
technology.
It
is
part
of
the
human
experience.
8

10. STORY:
Burning
Man.
70,000
aGendees.
90%
of
the
staff
are
volunteers.
Volunteers
parEcipate
in
every
aspect
of
the
event;
building
the
city,
operaEons,
security,
art,
music,
cleanup,
and
tear-­‐down.
People
volunteering
at
Burning
Man
have
similar
moEvaEons
to
contributors
at
Mozilla.
Burning
Man
volunteers
say
parEcipaEng
in
the
event
profoundly
changes
their
lives.
They
feel
part
of
something
bigger
than
themselves.
By
volunteering,
they
allow
others
in
the
community
to
also
have
that
experience.
Burning
Man
has
10
principals
that
help
to
shape
their
community
&
culture.
9

11. I
find
the
principal
on
parEcipaEon
interesEng
and
relevant.
Everyone
is
invited.
They
open-­‐source
the
event,
create
a
social
experiment
that
profoundly
affects
their
community
10

12. Zappos
also
has
10
principals
(or
core
values)
that
guide
their
culture.
The
actual
principals
themselves
maGer
less
than
fully
commiwng
to
them.
They
are
not
a
meaningless
plaque
on
the
wall
of
the
corporate
lobby.
Everyone
must
understand
and
commit
to
these
values;
at
Zappos
they
hire
and
fire
by
them.
They
set
the
tone
for
the
culture,
the
community.
By
doing
this,
you
build
a
community
&
culture
with
a
common
purpose.
11

13. How
you
do
it
maGers.
At
Mozilla,
and
on
MDN,
we
value
openness.
It
isn’t
easy.
I’m
not
saying
we
do
it
100%
right
all
the
Eme.
We
can
always
do
beGer,
a
we
evolve
as
a
community.
Currently,
many
of
our
meeEngs
and
discussions
are
public,
as
are
our
roadmaps
and
goals.
We
have
an
open
list
to
discuss
prioriEes.
We
vote,
discuss,
argue
politely.
The
ongoing
dialog
improves
iniEaEves
and
ideas.
We
all
are
invested
in
creaEng
good
documentaEon.
We
can,
and
will,
conEnue
improve
openness
and
communicaEon.
We
constantly
improve,
learn
and
evolve.
I
realize,
however,
that
being
open
doesn’t
help
much
if
people
can’t
find
how
to
parEcipate,
in
ways
that
are
meaningful
and
relevant
to
them.
Helping
people
find
how
to
parEcipate
in
ways
that
are
meaningful
and
relevant
to
them
are
key
drivers
for
success
in
the
long-­‐term.
12

14. Listen.
Be
Open.
Admit
mistakes
(because
you
and
everyone
else
will
make
them).
Move
on
and
do
beGer.
Openess
is
hard.
Consensus
feels
slow
and
frustraEng.
However
slow
consensus
feels,
I
believe
doing
the
wrong
thing
is
slower.
STORY:
MDN
Redesign.
13

15. When
I
talk
about
the
MDN
community
to
people
who
don’t
parEcipate
in
open
source,
or
other
volunteer-­‐based
organizaEons,
they
omen
say
wow,
that
is
awesome,
you
have
armies
of
volunteers
working
on
documentaEon.
How
do
you
get
them
to
write
what
you
want?
14

16. You
don’t
Members
of
your
community
are
not
minions;
they
are
partners
in
a
journey.
15

17. To
get
things
done
you
share
informaEon
and
ownership.
You
help,
you
moEvate,
and
you
provide
opportunity
to
share
their
experEse
in
a
way
that
is
relevant
and
meaningful
to
them.
I
believe
providing
opportunity
is
the
key
to
where
we
are,
and
where
we
need
to
conEnue
to
go.
16

18. You
are
probably
thinking,
that’s
great,
but…
I
already
know
this.
I
parEcipate
in
Open
Source.
I
run
projects.
I
volunteer.
I
challenge
you
to
think
about
your
project,
your
contributors,
and
your
community.
What
inspires
you?
What
inspires
passion
in
them?
What
inspires
passion
in
your
users?
Can
people
on
the
“outside”
parEcipate?
Can
your
community
involve
even
more
people,
from
even
more
diverse
backgrounds?
What
opportuniEes
can
you
give
them?
What
opportuniEes
will
they
give
you,
if
you
allow
them
to.
Grow
beyond
your
boarders.
Think
about
it.
It
is
very
easy
to
get
into
a
bubble.
A
bubble
of
your
friends,
your
company,
your
team,
your
area
or
region.
History
is
liGered
with
failed
products
developed
by
teams
that
got
too
far
into
their
bubbles
and
lost
touch
with
their
larger
communiEes.
A
community
of
deeply
involved,
passionate,
smart,
and
inspiring
people
provides
diversity
and
different
perspecEves.
They
help
make
the
right
decisions.
17

19. Try
it.
Or,
you
are
always
welcome
to
join
our
community
and
help
make
the
web
a
beGer
place.
18

20. 19