Contributor Day Table Leadership Guide

This guide helps table leads prepare for and manage a WordPress Playground contributor table at WordCamp events.

Before Contributor Day

Pre-Work Checklist

• Curate "Good First Issues": Review and update the good first issues list on GitHub. These should be straightforward tasks that new contributors can complete independently. If you find a bug that is not on the list but could be part of it, contact the playground team at the Slack channel.
• Coordinate with the Playground Team: Confirm if Playground team members are available online to provide remote support during the event, especially for flagship WordCamps. Due to timezone differences, align in advance at the #playground channel to check their availability.
• Connect with Local Contributors: Identify regular contributors in the region attending the event. Check on the #playground Slack Channel if an active community member is participating in the contributor day. This is an opportunity to gather feedback and strengthen community connections.
• Check the Playground Repository: If you never contribute with the WordPress Playground Repository, you should get familiar with this a good section at the documentation that can guide you to understand the project is Developers > Architecture it will contain information how the project is organized. If you have any questions, please get in touch with the team at the Playground Slack channel.

Starting the Day

Setup and Onboarding

1. Create Your Agenda: Prepare a flexible checklist of key activities while allowing for organic collaboration. Share it in the project documentation if helpful.

2. Guide Contributors to Slack: Direct everyone to the #playground channel on WordPress Slack. This centralizes communication and enables asynchronous collaboration with late arrivals.

3. Post a Welcome Message: Share an initial message in the Slack channel announcing your presence (in-person or online) and welcoming contributions from everyone.

4. Share Essential Links: Post these resources in the #playground channel:

   • WordPress Playground Web Instance
   • Playground Documentation
   • Playground Step Library
   • GitHub Repository
   • Contributor Day guide

5. Introduce the GitHub Repository: Provide a brief walkthrough of the repository structure, highlighting different packages and their purposes for first-time contributors.

During the Day

Managing Contributions

Encourage Different Contribution Types:

Check the contributors' levels, try to understand based on their level how they can contribute to the project in the short window of a contributor day. Ask if the participants need help and redirect them to the related documentation page. Also, encourage them to ask questions at the #playground Slack channel. Here are some suggestions for ways of contributing:

• Documentation improvements and translations.
• Carefully crafted issues describing problems with actionable solutions.
• Blueprint creation and plugin demos at the WordPress plugin repository.
• Testing and product feedback.

Foster Collaboration: Look for cross-table opportunities. For example, contributors at the Polyglots/Translation table might translate Playground documentation, or the Core Test team could provide valuable Playground feedback.

Collect Feedback: Ask contributors about their experience and note improvement suggestions. Report this in the #playground Slack Channel if possible.

After the Event

Follow-Up and Support

1. Review Pull Requests: List PRs created during the day and assess their completion likelihood. Most contributions have a short momentum window—engagement within the first two weeks is critical.

2. Set Clear Expectations: For incomplete PRs, follow this approach:

   • After one month of inactivity, leave a comment asking if the author plans to complete the work.
   • If no response after two more weeks, inform them that the PR may be taken over by another contributor or closed.

3. Stay Active on Slack: Continue supporting new contributors through the #playground channel, answering questions and helping them become regular contributors.

4. Reflect and Improve: Review collected feedback and your experience to refine this guide for future events. Feel free to submit a Pull Request to this guide!

Getting Help

• During the Event: Connect with contributors at the Playground table.
• Ongoing Support: Use the #playground Slack channel.
• Report Issues: Submit to the WordPress Playground GitHub repository.

For more information on contributing to WordPress Playground, see the Contributor Day guide.