The Mozilla Developer Network is an open-source documentation wiki for web developers, which is written by really passionate, smart, and inspiring people. Most are not paid employees of Mozilla. All of them are helping make the web a better place by writing, editing, and reviewing articles. How do you support a diverse community, acknowledge many different voices and perspectives, be open and inclusive, and still get things done (especially when you can’t force anyone to do anything)? In this session, I’ll share what I’ve learned (and keep learning) by working with, in, and for volunteer communities; including how to be more transparent, create opportunity, and broadly share ownership.

1. Introduce
yourself!
0

2. The
Firefox
browser
is
Mozilla’s
most
well-­‐known
product.
You
might
not
know
Mozilla
is
an
open-­‐source,
non-­‐profit,
mission-­‐based
company.
1

3. Mozilla
has
a
mission
is
to
promote
openness,
innovaGon
&
opportunity
on
the
Web.
2

4. We
rely
upon
a
huge
volunteer
community
to
achieve
our
mission.
3

5. 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
documentaGon
wiki
for
web
developer.
WriQen
by
a
community
of
developers
and
writers.
Or
would
that
be
writer-­‐developers?
Developer-­‐writers?
Anyways;
4

6. MDN
documentaGon
covers
standards
&
technologies
that
build
the
web:
HTML,
CSS,
Javascript.
Canvas.
SVG.
Mobile
&
HTML5
Apps.
We
also
write
developer-­‐centric
documentaGon
for
Mozilla
products.
MDN
scope
&
size:
• 2
million
users/month
• 35
languages
• over
11k
documents
&
growing
all
the
Gme
5
paid
writers.
The
web
is
big
&
constantly
evolving,
Standards
are
updated.
There
is
a
lot
to
document.
More
work
than
5
people
can
possibly
do.
How
do
we
get
around
that?
5

7. We
have
an
awesome
community
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.
On
MDN,
community
enables
us
to
“punch
above
our
weight”
• 5
paid
writers,
plus
1
community
manager,
plus
1
manager
• 2-­‐3
part-­‐Gme
paid
contractors
• 225
core
volunteers
(contribute
weekly
over
the
course
of
several
months)
• 600+
acGve
contributors
(at
least
one
in
a
month)
• 1,500
occasional
contributors
(monthly)
• 5k
registered
users
(have
made
one
edit)
• 2m
users,
who
I
hope
will
eventually
join
and
share
their
experGse.
What
does
the
community
do?
Write,
edit,
localize,
tag
content.
Technical
and
editorial
reviews.
Contribute
code
to
our
proprietary
wiki
plaeorm.
Upload
demos
and
code
samples.
Speak
about
Mozilla
at
events.
Hold
MDN
events
for
developers
–
documentaGon
and
localizaGon
sprints.
Help
us
be
more
accessible.
Just
as
–
or
more-­‐
importantly,
thye
provide
diversity
and
different
perspecGves.
6

8. One
of
the
best
parts
of
my
job
is
working
with
the
community.
Story:
Priyanka
&
Kaustav
are
university
students
in
Pune.
Met
in
person
in
September.
Love
Mozilla
&
love
MDN
Helped
host
an
event
in
Pune,
then
began
hosGng
Doc
Sprints
Created
event
best
pracGce
guide
to
help
others
who
want
to
hold
similar
events.
Helped
re-­‐write
Gekng
Started
guide
for
new
community
members.
Provide
insight
into
what
developers
in
India
care
about
7

9. PERSONAL
STORY:
FISL
in
Porto
Allegre,
in
Southerm
Brazil.
Held
a
localizaGon
sprint
&
70
people
showed
up.
Introduced
MDN
and
gave
a
quick
introducGon
to
how
to
edit.
AQendees
asking
“it
is
that
easy””
was
thrilling.
The
big
smiles
and
enthusiasm
were
infecGous.
Many
guys
brought
their
girlfriends,
halfway
through
the
day
the
girls
had
pulled
the
laptops
away
and
were
translaGng.
Translated
200
docs.
Whave
very
remarkably
low
spam
and
malicious
edits.
Even
accidental
problems
are
rare.
People
feel
great
responsibility
to
the
site
and
the
documentaGon.
They
follow
the
style
guide
and
editorial
rules,
oqen
without
prompGng.
We
come
together
around
a
shared
goal:
documenGng
the
web.
Keeping
it
open.
8

10. You’re
probably
thinking,,
wow,
that
is
awesome,
you
have
armies
of
volunteers
working
on
documentaGon.
How
do
you
get
them
to
do
what
you
want?
9

11. You
don’t
Members
of
your
community
are
not
minions;
they
are
partners
in
a
journey.
10

12. To
get
things
done
you
share
informaGon
and
ownership.
You
help,
you
moGvate,
and
you
provide
opportunity
to
share
their
experGse
in
a
way
that
is
relevant
and
meaningful
to
them.
I
believe
providing
opportunity
is
the
key.
What,
exactly,
drives
people
to
devote
their
free
Gme
to
wriGng
stuff
they
don’t
get
paid
for?
11

13. ScienGfic
studies
find
there
is
a
powerful
and
significant
difference
between
extrinsic
moGvaGon,
the
kind
that
comes
from
outside
sources,
and
intrinsic
moGvaGon,
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
effecGve
moGvator.
In
fact,
extrinsic
moGvators
may
have
a
negaGve
effect
in
the
long
run.
In
a
1974
study
Green
&
Lepper
rewarded
children
for
drawing
with
felt-­‐Gp
pens
(the
children
drew
before
with
great
enjoyment).
The
surprising
result?
Aqer
receiving
rewards
for
the
acGvity,
the
children
showed
liQle
to
no
interest
in
drawing
with
the
pens.
The
extrinsic
moGvaGon
replaced
any
intrinsic
moGvaGon,
thereby
diminishing
the
innate
enjoyment
of
the
acGvity.
What
moGvates
volunteers?
A
sense
of
belonging.
The
opportunity
to
share
experGse.
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.
12

14. A
great
book
about
moGvaGon,
Drive,
by
Dan
Pink,
explains
theories
of
what
drives
people:
Autonomy
–
the
desire
to
direct
our
own
lives.
2.
Mastery
—
the
urge
to
get
beQer
and
beQer
at
something
that
maQers.
3.
Purpose
—
the
yearning
to
do
what
we
do
in
the
service
of
something
larger
than
ourselves.
This
applies
outside
of
documentaGon,
open
source,
or
technology.
It
is
part
of
the
human
experience.
13

15. STORY:
Burning
Man.
70,000
aQendees.
90%
of
the
staff
are
volunteers.
Volunteers
parGcipate
in
every
aspect
of
the
event;
building
the
city,
operaGons,
security,
art,
music,
cleanup,
and
tear-­‐down.
People
volunteering
at
Burning
Man
have
similar
moGvaGons
to
contributors
at
Mozilla.
Burning
Man
volunteers
say
parGcipaGng
in
the
event
profoundly
changes
their
lives.
They
feel
part
of
something
bigger
than
themselves.
Volunteering
allows
others
in
the
community
to
also
have
that
experience.
Burning
Man
has
10
principals
that
help
to
shape
their
community
&
culture.
14

16. I
find
the
principal
on
parGcipaGon
interesGng
and
relevant.
Everyone
is
invited.
They
open-­‐source
the
event,
create
a
social
experiment
15

17. Mozilla
also
has
10
principals
that
shape
the
community
and
culture.
Mozilla’s
principals
also
address
community
parGcipaGon.
Transparent
processes
lead
to
parGcipaGon,
trust,
accountability.
Everyone
is
invited.
PERSONAL
STORY:
A
couple
of
weeks
ago,
I
aQended
a
talk
by
Tony
Hsieh,
the
CEO
of
Zappos,
who
wrote
a
book,
Delivering
Happiness,
about
the
culture
at
Zappos.
16

18. Zappos
also
has
10
principals
(or
core
values)
that
guide
their
culture.
The
actual
principals
themselves
maQer
less
than
fully
commikng
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.
17

19. You
are
probably
thinking,
That’s
great,
but…
It
would
never
work
for
me.
Not
at
my
company.
We
have
deadlines,
roadmaps
&
there
is
not
way
to
get
around
them.
So
do
we.
We
have
roadmaps,
goals.
It’s
just
that
our
prioriGes
&
roadmaps
are
developed
with
the
community,
instead
of
for
them.
Think
about
it.
If
I
can’t
convince
the
community
of
passionate
volunteers,
who
give
up
their
free
Gme
to
write
documentaGon,
that
something
is
the
right
thing
to
do
–
maybe
it
isn’t
the
right
thing
to
do.
Think
about
that.
It
is
too
easy
to
get
into
a
bubble.
A
bubble
of
your
team,
your
company,
your
area
or
region.
History
is
liQered
with
failed
products
developed
by
teams
that
got
too
far
into
their
bubbles
and
lost
touch
with
their
communiGes.
A
community
of
deeply
involved,
passionate,
smart,
and
inspiring
people
provides
diversity
and
different
perspecGves.
They
help
make
the
right
decisions.
18

20. It
isn’t
easy.
I’m
not
saying
we
do
it
100%
right
all
the
Gme.
Currently,
most
of
our
meeGngs
and
discussions
are
public,
as
are
our
roadmaps
and
goals.
We
have
an
open
list
to
discuss
prioriGes.
We
vote,
discuss,
argue
politely.
The
ongoing
dialog
improves
iniGaGves
and
ideas.
We
all
are
invested
in
creaGng
good
documentaGon.
We
can,
and
will,
conGnue
improve
openness
and
communicaGon.
Our
very
vocal
community
ensures
that.
We
constantly
improve,
learn
and
evolve.
Openess
is
hard.
Consensus
feels
slow
and
frustraGng.
However
slow
consensus
feels,
I
believe
doing
the
wrong
thing
is
slower.
STORY:
MDN
Redesign.
It
isn’t
easy,
but
what
we
share
and
achieve,
together,
is
awesome.
Not
everyone
can,
or
should,
build
a
community
in
the
same
way.
What
works
for
us
might
not
be
possible,
or
beneficial
to
you
and
your
users/community.
You
community
might
not
be
volunteers,
it
might
be
co-­‐workers
or
others
in
your
industry.
I
challenge
you
to
think
about
what
you
document.
What
inspires
you?
What
inspires
passion
in
your
users?
Can
they
help
write
the
docs?
How
about
review
them?
Can
they
promote
them
at
events?
What
opportuniGes
can
you
give
your
community?
What
opportuniGes
will
they
give
you,
if
you
allow
them
to.
19

21. Try
it.
Or,
you
are
always
welcome
to
join
our
community
and
help
make
the
web
a
beQer
place.
20