The joy of volunteering with open technology and culture
summary
Describes hands-on volunteer programs that use Wikipedia, Wikinews, Mozilla localization, IRC and Google Groups plus spreadsheets and cheat sheets to recruit, train and retain contributors; gives concrete practices: application forms to screen participants, mixed groups of experienced editors mentoring newcomers, repeat workshops, anti‑harassment rules, travel scholarships and swag for motivation. Reports retention around 10–20%, shows featured profiles and a featured volunteer of the month widget that boosts engagement, and cites successful on‑train and on‑flight recruitments.
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chapters (42)
- 0:00Introduction
- 2:20Summary
- 2:38How to mentor volunteers
- 6:08Why are you volunteering
- 9:48Why are you not volunteering
- 11:39Lack of selfconfidence
- 14:11Why Wikipedia
- 16:05Conducting workshops
- 17:58Creating a leaderboard
- 19:35Mixing newcomers with veterans
- 20:26Repeating events
- 21:22Less is better
- 22:44Antiharassment policy
- 23:49Go slow
- 24:37Ask questions
- 25:06Do not intimidate
- 25:43Spread the word
- 26:17Document everything
- 27:38The numbers
- 28:52Womenonly workshops
- 29:43Additional opportunities
- 30:36Planning
- 32:39Learning resources
- 34:08Choosing learning resources
- 35:01Engaging volunteers
- 36:55Recognition
- 37:59Featured Volunteers
- 38:57Certificates Letters of Reference
- 39:20Conference Passes
- 40:45Media Recognition
- 41:05Motivations
- 41:52Surprises
- 42:28Scholarships
- 43:47Why do people quit
- 45:01Not recognizing contributions sufficiently
- 45:47Unwelcoming culture
- 47:04Managing your volunteers
- 49:03Diversity
- 49:29Safe Space Policy
- 49:43Burnouts
- 50:10Thank you
- 50:21Any new ideas
