{"id":43973,"date":"2014-02-26T02:31:30","date_gmt":"2014-02-26T02:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/?post_type=handbook&#038;p=43973"},"modified":"2024-09-17T17:17:25","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T17:17:25","slug":"getting-started-at-a-contributor-day","status":"publish","type":"handbook","link":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/handbook\/getting-started\/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Started at a Contributor Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This guide is intended to help you get started contributing to the support\u00a0team at a <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>contributor day<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Contributor Day<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/\">https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/<\/a> There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. <a href=\"https:\/\/2017.us.wordcamp.org\/contributor-day\/\">https:\/\/2017.us.wordcamp.org\/contributor-day\/<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/handbook\/getting-started\/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day\/\">https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/handbook\/getting-started\/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day\/<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span>. Below is an outline of what the Support\u00a0team does, and how to quickly get started contributing to\u00a0WordPress support. If you need any help, talk to your\u00a0contributor day organizer, or ask your question in <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/tag\/forums\/\" class=\"tag\"><span class=\"tag-prefix\">#<\/span>forums<\/a> on <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>Slack<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Slack<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform <a href=\"https:\/\/slack.com\/\">https:\/\/slack.com\/<\/a>. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/chat\/\">https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/chat\/<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Regular Meeting Time:<\/strong> Every other Thursday, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeanddate.com\/worldclock\/fixedtime.html?hour=17&amp;min=00&amp;sec=0&amp;p1=0&amp;msg=Support+Team+Chat\">17:00 UTC<\/a><br><strong>Chat Room:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.slack.com\/messages\/forums\/\">#forums<\/a> channel on <a href=\"https:\/\/chat.wordpress.org\/\">Slack<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Support responsibilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The responsibilities of the support team are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Helping in the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/support\/forums\">WordPress Support Forums<\/a> by answering questions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Helping in the <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/irc-support-channel\/\">#wordpress IRC channel<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Providing guidance and answering questions <em>related to the forums<\/em> in the <a href=\"https:\/\/chat.wordpress.org\/\">#forums channel on Slack<\/a> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Providing guidance in general \u2013 the majority of the users in the WP forums are in over their heads and they need a little guidance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Common Tasks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a member of the Support team, some common tasks that you\u2019ll carry out are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Answer questions in the WordPress support forums\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Look for topics that you can contribute to, based on your experience level<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keep the conversation positive<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keep replies on topic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Monitor IRC and answer questions as they appear\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Usually the questions will be more complex, but some will be easy<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Because IRC is live chat, be ready to reply immediately<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Note documentation\/handbook articles that need to be improved, and update them with relevant information\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Many of these articles will be used in both the forums and IRC<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prior Knowledge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Helping in support doesn\u2019t require a lot of <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>PHP<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>PHP<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.php.net\/manual\/en\/index.php\">https:\/\/www.php.net\/manual\/en\/index.php<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span> experience, but knowledge that you\u2019ll find helpful for working in support is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Knowing something about how WordPress works from a user\u2019s perspective. This includes usage of themes, plugins, the site and <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>block<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Block<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience.<\/span><\/span><\/span> editors, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Knowing a few basic concepts such as actions and filters<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An understanding of the basics of <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>CSS<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>CSS<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>CSS is an acronym for cascading style sheets. This is what controls the design or look and feel of a site.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An understanding of testing and debugging<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A patient attitude: Remember that it\u2019s not easy for people to ask for help<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A <a href=\"https:\/\/codex.wordpress.org\/Editing_Files#Using_Text_Editors\">basic text editor<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/handbook\/tutorials\/installing-wordpress-locally\/\">local development environment<\/a> or a self-hosted site you\u2019re willing to test things on, would be handy. A newer alternative is <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/playground\/\">WP Playground<\/a>, which runs entirely in-browser, and provides a WP instance to test things out.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/codex.wordpress.org\/IRC#IRC_Client_Applications\">IRC client<\/a> \u2013 or the easiest way is to access in your browser: <a href=\"https:\/\/web.libera.chat\/#wordpress\">web.libera.chat<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Familiarize yourself with <a href=\"https:\/\/codex.wordpress.org\/IRC\/wp-doc-bot\">IRC tools<\/a> \u2013 i.e. type in a code, and it will produce a link to a <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>plugin<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Plugin<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/\">https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/<\/a> or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party.<\/span><\/span><\/span> or codex article<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Essential Reading<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Know your way around the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/documentation\/\">WordPress Documentation<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/developer.wordpress.org\/\">Developer documentation<\/a>, so you can quickly look things up when necessary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">First Steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To help out on the support forums:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sign up for a <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>WordPress.org<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>WordPress.org<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization.  <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/\">https:\/\/wordpress.org\/<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span> account<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Browse through the support forums to see what you can help out with, especially the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/support\/view\/no-replies\">No Replies section<\/a>\u00a0of the forums<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To help out in IRC:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Select an <a href=\"https:\/\/codex.wordpress.org\/IRC#IRC_Client_Applications\">IRC client<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Log in to irc.libera.chat, channel <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/tag\/wordpress\/\" class=\"tag\"><span class=\"tag-prefix\">#<\/span>wordpress<\/a>. More information is available in <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/irc-support-channel\/\">this handbook article about IRC<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Help someone out with an answer to their question<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tasks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some easy tasks for a first-time contributor to get started at a contributor day are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/irc-support-channel\/\">Join the #WordPress IRC channel<\/a> and help answer questions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Join the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.slack.com\/messages\/forums\/\">#forums<\/a>  channel on <a href=\"https:\/\/chat.wordpress.org\/\">Slack<\/a> to communicate with other volunteers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Head to the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/support\/view\/no-replies\">No Replies<\/a> link in the forums and start answer threads that haven\u2019t received any attention<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<nav class='o2-post-footer-actions'><ul class='o2-post-footer-action-row'><\/ul><div class='o2-post-footer-action-likes'><\/div><ul class='o2-post-footer-action-row'><\/ul><\/nav>","protected":false},"author":7518923,"featured_media":0,"parent":42984,"menu_order":3,"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-43973","handbook","type-handbook","status-publish","hentry","author-siobhan","make-getting-started-at-a-contributor-day"],"revision_note":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/handbook\/43973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/handbook"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/handbook"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7518923"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/handbook\/43973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49848,"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/handbook\/43973\/revisions\/49848"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/handbook\/42984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}