Welcome to the Webmaker Support Directory

This directory lists all the channels and protocols in place for supporting both a user of the Webmaker platform, and a contributor to the Webmaker community.

A user is any one who uses the Webmaker platform. The Webmaker platform includes our tools Popcorn, Thimble, and X-Ray Goggles, as well as all the interactive features of webmaker.org such as the make galleries and badging system.

A contributor is a person who is involved in helping the Webmaker movement itself. Contributors are considered part of the Webmaker community, and help by becoming mentors, volunteering at events, filing bugs, translating pages to their local language (known as "localizing"), answering questions, and generally playing an active role in advancing the Webmaker movement.

All contributors are users, but not all users are contributors. Some users just make things on webmaker.org for whatever purpose they deem fit, but don't help grow the Webmaker movement itself. Both users and contributors are critical to the success of Webmaker, so here's how we support them.

Mozilla Support network (aka “SUMO”)

SUMO stands for “Mozilla Support” (the letters are backwards because “SUMO” is easier to pronounce than “MOSU”).

It is the primary place to go for help.

The SUMO network lives at http://support.mozilla.org and contains

• a [knowledge base] of help articles
• a user flow for [asking questions]
• the “army of awesome” battleground for helping users on Twitter.
  • Note: the "ask a question" and "army of awesome" features for SUMO are not yet set up for Webmaker. Just Firefox

SUMO is broken down by Mozilla product. Currently it supports Firefox, Firefox for Android, Firefox OS, and Webmaker. This page is only concerned with Webmaker, so let's keep going!

The Webmaker knowledge base lives at http://support.mozilla.org/products/webmaker

It is further organized by topic, and contains the most current articles for helping a user.

The "[ask a question]" user flow is not currently set up for Webmaker (expect it in a few weeks). It works by guiding a user through relevant help articles depending on the issues they are having. If the articles are insufficient in helping the user, they can post a question and receive help by other contributors in the [public forums].

The "[army of awesome]" battleground is currently only set up for Firefox. It as an innovate crowdsource feature that allows anyone to respond directly to people who need help on Twitter. We have ambitions to set up an algorithm for Webmaker related cries for help across the Twitterverse. Likely it will be something as simple as a #WebmakerHelp or #HelpMeMake hashtag that is unique enough so we know it is our users who are implementing it.

To contribute to SUMO, you just need an account. More information is available on SUMO's get involved page

Communication Channels

Whenever possible, a user should feel comfortable getting the help they need on SUMO. Understandably, some users aren't in the mood for reading help articles or creating an account to ask a question on a community forum, so we have alternative channels for ensuring their concerns are heard and met.

Well established channels

• @Webmaker on Twitter
  • Users will tweet to @Webmaker with technical problems or questions on being a contributor.
  • The protocol is to respond to DMs or @reply back to them pointing them to a relevant SUMO article or forum area. Unless the answer fits within a tweet or requires a custom response.

• @Mozteach on Twitter
  • Mozteach is designed for the mentor community.
  • The protocol is to respond to DMs or @reply back to them pointing them to a relevant SUMO article or forum area. Unless the answer fits within a tweet or requires a custom response.

• Mozilla Webmaker on Tumblr

• Webmaker Mentors Google+ Community

• makerparty@mozilla.org email

Less established channels

• /Contribute form
• webmakerhelp@mozilla.org not yet turned on due to technical and logistical constraints

Where not to go

• @Mozilla on Twitter
  • Webmaker users who tweet @Mozilla should be directed ...

• @Mozilla on Facebook

• A campaign specific hashtag i.e. #MakerParty
  • users might tweet questions using a campaign specific hashtag like #MakerParty. They should be helped by ...

• Any of the other Mozilla product channels
  • i.e. Firefox Facebook page, Twitter account + any of FirefoxOS channels.

Things to improve

• wiki
• email setup and protocol for webmakerhelp@mozilla.org
• a unique help hashtag? i.e. #HelpMeMake or #WebmakerHelp to be implmeneted with Army of Awesome
• Communication to Mozillians in other divisions i.e. Firefox who get questions about Webmaker