Research:Teahouse/Hosting/Host lounge phase 2

This page shares the next steps for developing the new and improved Host Lounge! This is based on feedback given here.

Here you will also find questions to discuss (preferably on talk page).

Please mark Done when you are done doing a task.

Host lounge main page

This is the central landing page for hosts. It needs to have lots of clear calls to action that get hosts to do all the important things that keep the Teahouse running. This page will be divided into different sections, each with a distinct purpose. Most of these sections will link to one (or maybe more) sub-pages. We want to minimize the # of these sub-pages and make navigating to and between them easier.

The important components of the host lounge are

1. Project goals
2. Get started
3. Things you can do
4. Useful tools
5. Announcements

Use cases

Priority use cases of the host lounge main page are

P1. New host is just getting started, wants to know what things they can/should do as a host, and how they should do it.

• as a new host, I...

• …want to know what I can do right now to help guests
• ...want to know what tools I need to do my job

P2. Experienced host use cases...

• as an experienced host, I...

• ...want to know what changes have been made to Teahouse pages by other hosts since my last visit
• …want easy access to the tools I use regularly (templates, lists, etc)

(can this be customizable? set up some type of host-page people can copy into their own userspace even? I realize that is not the lounge...) hw[a] P3. Prospective host/curious visitor use cases*

• as a prospective host, I...

• ...want to know what I need to do to become a Teahouse host
• ...want to know what will be expected of me as a Teahouse host

* on it's own, this is a lower priority. However, laying out the page so that someone who has never seen it before can get the gist of it will make the lounge more useful for everyone!

Components

Project goals: An abbreviated version of the current project goals (retain link to the Meta page for more info), along with

Get started: A white box (similar to the one on the Q&A page), that links to a separate page with...

• button Call-to-action to create a host profile - when a host clicks the button, they see a set of instructions that explain how host checkins/breakroom work above an edit window with a pre-loaded template. This mirrors the guest profile-creation process.
• link to expectations for hosting: explains what hosts are, do, etc. It is based on the old tips page and responsibilities page, makes hosting seem easy and fun, and needs to tie into the new host creation process. A short bulleted list of expectations for hosting.
• link to invite guide (current or revised)
• link to checkin page w/reminder to check in (checkin page will contain explanation of how checkins/breakroom works)

Things you can do: A prominent block of content (above the fold, right under the goals & get started sections) that lists the primary activities hosts can participate in, like this one. The list will be divided into ‘help new editors’ and ‘build the Teahouse’.

New hosts will like this because it helps them get involved right away. Veteran hosts will benefit from a reminder that there are things they can do other than answering questions on the Q&A board. Visitors will get an immediate sense of what hosts do, what the Teahouse is about.

To reduce the textcruft on the to-do list, each of these links will be short. For tasks that require some explaining (like ‘welcome new editors’ or ‘find WikiProject contacts’, below) the link will point to a section on the landing page which contains concise instructions.

• Help new editors:

• welcome Teahouse guests - link to Teahouse/Guests or to a recent guest report (similar in function to the invitee report)
• invite new editors - link to an invitation hub page(?) with links to places to find guests - new editor contribs filter, AfC, etc.
• check on automatically invited guests - link to an external watchlist/rss feed of automatically-invited guests, discussed here
• answer questions - link to the Q&A board
• recognize quality work - link to Teahouse barnstars

• Build the Teahouse:

• find WikiProject contacts - link to Sarah’s WikiProject contact list
• participate in the invite experiment - link to list of users participating in the personalized invite experiment
• work on new tools and features - link to a revised ‘wishlist’ that prompts hosts to take more leadership in building out functionality
• general housekeeping - link to some QA tasks we want to do more of, such as checking the ‘Recent questions’ to make sure none of them are broken. Hosts can also propose housekeeping tasks for others, such as deleting unused pages, or redirecting subpage talk pages. Guest intros (qa + images monitoring)

Useful tools: Links to templates, userscripts and other resources intended to make hosting easier. ‘Templates’ and ‘Scripts’, broken out into meaningful categories, with one link per category. Each link goes to the corresponding section of a page that contains all the scripts, and what they’re for. We should also links to a SHORT, intimidation-free guide to installing scripts.

• Templates - templates that hosts use frequently.

• invites and welcomes
• barnstars & userboxes
• talkback

• Scripts - handy scripts, by category. Link scripts individually, since it’s hard to remember which ones are available and new ones are added all the time. If we only list these on a sub-page, hosts may not know a new script has been added.

• Q&A board scripts - talkback script, “reply to this discussion”, talkback reminder
• Invite scripts - user utility, AfC invite script, Twinkle invite scripts
• Host Navigation template

Announcements: This is how hosts know what’s new with the project at a glance. Has edit link. Should also have ‘watch’ link, to remind hosts that it’s interactive, like this task list. Keep in current location.

Next steps

• Make the goals and scope shorter and sweeter
• Implement new content organization plan
• Develop a fresh new look.
• Create a SHORT, intimidation-free guide to installing scripts.
• create checkin page
• collect all existing user scripts (or links to same) in one page
• create external watchlist for automated invites
• create 'housekeeping' tasks page
• write concise instructions for more complex 'things to do'

Responsibilities

Next steps

• We have already discussed creating a "new host space" which will guide new hosts through the process of signing up and what expectations are of them as host. Let's merge this page into that. Done
• Rename the section "Expectations." Done
• Merge "Host tips" with this content. Done
• Re-examine the writing. Done

Host tips

Next steps

• Merge into the "Expectations" page. Done
• Remove email suggestion, no one does emails. Done
• Explore the opportunity to use a bot to do talkbacks. Done

Invite guide

Next steps

• Edit the text and redesign the look and feel of the page. Done
• Create it into a guide that features ease of access to: learning how to invite and where to find new editors, scripts and templates. Done

Note

• We already have a bot proposal on the table, you can find that here.

Templates

Question

• Can Hostbot (or Talkbackbot? :) ) do automatic talkbacks when hosts answer editors questions?

Next steps

• Keep this page
• Support the hosts by organizing a design sprint for new invites, invite language, welcome messages, etc. where all are involved.
• Organize the page better - perhaps tabs or an easier way to "shop" for templates.
  • Removed extra copy and duplicated templates, TOC should be easy to use. Feel free to clarify any other issues you may have. heather walls (talk) 19:02, 29 August 2012 (UTC) Reverted by Nathan ;D

User scripts

Next steps

• Find volunteers to write a super easy how-to in regards to install scripts. Done
• Organize page better Done

Five pillars

Next steps

• DELETE!! Done

WikiProjects

Next steps

• Redesign the page - perhaps a more attractive menu with transcluded links to "subjects" people have interest in.

Note

• This page is currently being utilized and won't be deleted in the immediate future. We are hoping we can make use of this page somehow!

Update

• This page isn't going to be redesigned at this time.

Glossary

Next steps

• DELETE!! Done

Announcements

Questions

• How can we create a call to action and where would we put it to encourage people to add it to their watch list?

Next steps

Host navigation template

Next steps

• Fix template so that it appears at the TOP of Teahouse pages, not bottom.

Updates

• WONTFIX we can discuss this with the redesign heather walls (talk) 21:18, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

Host breakroom

Next steps

• Remove link to it from Host Lounge. Done

Note

• This page will be utilized by HostBot in the near future so we cannot delete it.

More questions & things to consider

• Develop a space ("Host favorites"?) where hosts can share their best answers, tips, and templates. Thoughts?
• Create a new host lounge that features transcluded pages: expectations, tips, host favorites, and how-to's on one page (like the announcements?..or..?)