Community Wishlist Survey 2017/Archive/Establish global volunteer availability registry

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Establish global volunteer availability registry

  • Problem: Many smaller wikis are starved for volunteers / many editor volunteers are starved for work they are interested in performing
  • Who would benefit: smaller/ lesser-known wikis that suffer a shortage of certain types of volunteers / editor volunteers who are looking for new challenges
  • Proposed solution: Proposed solution: establish a central registry where editors can post their qualifications/ limitations / requirements, sort of like a job website, and allow editors to shop for new/additional volunteer jobs.
  • More comments: Am I making sense?
  • Phabricator tickets:

Discussion[edit]

Does this require any software development? If so, what kind of development? Can this be achieved with a simple wiki page? Max Semenik (talk) 23:45, 9 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It's an interesting proposal, Ottawahitech :) My team has been inviting contributors to all kinds of volunteer paths for a long time now, from tech ambassadors to tech translators, from visual editor experts to Structured Data Commons enthusiasts. I think we still need better integration into Wikimedia Resource Center, and your proposal probably also goes into that direction. Elitre (WMF) (talk) 15:42, 13 November 2017 (UTC) PS: The "simple wiki page" would still need design, usability tests, etc.[reply]

Hi Elitre, I have not had a chance yet to look into any of your links which look really interesting, but wanted to reply here first. I have been participating in some less well travelled wikis in the last couple of months and sometimes it feels like travelling in foreign lands. After the hectic pace of en.wikipedia I first thought it was a piece of cake to participate in wikis where one can count the number of daily recent edits on one’s fingers (sometimes also toes). That was until I discovered that some of those wikis have histories (and ghosts who come alive) that must be unravelled before one is allowed to participate…
Back to the topic at hand, matching volunteers to wikis that need them. Yes it is a complex problem. Just like employers always complaining about how they just cannot find "qualified" workers, and at the same time unemployed people are complaining that employers who are said-to-be-hiring but do not even acknowledge people who submit a resume.
I am not sure who should take the intiative to post a request: the wiki that needs workers , or the editors looking for (additional) work. Admins who run wikis are way too busy and rarely have the time, let alone the awareness of their need, to think about what type of volunteers they want and what qualifications those volunteers need. Just like employers who rely on their social network when picking new employees, they are more likely to rely on editors they already know and try to poach them, instead of getting editors who are available…
Oops, my TLDR-meter has expired long ago, thanks for pinging me. Ottawahitech (talk) 13:53, 14 November 2017 (UTC) Please ping me[reply]
I believe your request may also be related to existing efforts. The first that comes to mind, for example, is Community Capacity Development. I will also ping User:Asaf (WMF) in case he wants to weigh in. Best, Elitre (WMF) (talk) 14:35, 14 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Ottawahitech: This isn't really a technical request; it's more about building community support for an initiative. We're going to have to archive this. Thanks for participating in the survey. -- DannyH (WMF) (talk) 21:12, 20 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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