[wp-meta] [Making WordPress.org] #3878: Adding Badges for WordCamp Volunteers and Attendees

[Making WordPress.org]

#3878: Adding Badges for WordCamp Volunteers and Attendees
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 Reporter:  sebastienserre           |       Owner:  (none)
     Type:  enhancement              |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal                   |   Milestone:
Component:  Profiles                 |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  needs-patch 2nd-opinion  |
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Comment (by TacoVerdo):

 Back in 2013, I was welcomed in the community with the word 'to be part of
 the WordPress community, all you have to do is show up'. These exact words
 made that I felt welcome, that I felt I had a place in this community
 where everyone knows each other. And to date, these words make that I dare
 to show up at a new 'table' at a contributor day.

 Over time, I've collected quite a few badges. Some represent hours of work
 and a great number of contributions, others I received because I showed up
 or write a single line CSS fix for Core.

 Badges aren't money. Badges aren't credit one can monetize, use to vote or
 do anything of meaning with. Badges are the way of the WordPress community
 to show that we value our people. That we appreciate what one is doing for
 the WordPress project. They're meaningless outside our bubble, yet can
 make quite the difference to welcome people into our bubble.

 Last week, Mike MANUALLY gave me the badge for contributing to the hosting
 team. I spent most of the afternoon commenting on the handbook during the
 WCEU contributor day, and I got a badge for it. Was that deserved? The
 team, through Mike, thinks so, and I'm "wearing" the badge like a prize.
 It makes me want to come back to that team, because I now feel connected
 to them. That's what the badges should do.

 **Badges for volunteers at WordCamps**
 Having a badge for volunteering at a WordCamp would mean we show our
 appreciation for the work these people do, so far everyone in this thread
 seems to agree on that.

 So what's left is practical objections. At first, it's work for the
 organizers. Yeah, true. It is. It would mean they have to -at first- send
 a list of usernames to support at wordcamp.org so that these people can be
 granted their badges. For most events, that's less than 5 minutes of work.
 This is not what's going to keep organizers from organizing, at all.

 And if the problem then is that someone has to manually assign those
 badges after the emails come in; I'll do that. Because I think it's worth
 every second of the time it would take.

 **Badges for WordCamp attendees**
 Reading the conversation so far, I see the opinion that attending a ready-
 made event isn't contributing to WordPress. I could not disagree more.

 First of all, attendees are paying to go to events. They're contributing
 money to the project. They're contributing money to events that help
 spread the word of WordPress. They're telling their friends about going
 these events, they're sharing their attendance on social media. They're
 voluntarily making WordPress more well-known. They're increasing
 WordPress' circle of influence.

 But even if they weren't doing all that. What if they'd just pay for their
 ticket and attend the event. That would make them customers. And what is
 every major company in the world doing at the moment; right customer
 loyalty programs. Collectables. Gamification that makes someone return to
 their company. So even if WordCamp attendees didn't add any value for the
 WordPress project, it would still be interesting to reward their efforts,
 so that they want to come back.

 "If we start to add badges for WordCamps attendees on these grounds,
 WordPress meetup attendees should also get a badge.", @sippis said. Well
 yes, you see to understand. Meetup attendees are exactly like WordCamp
 attendees, we need to reward them for showing up too!

 And the good thing about both WordCamp and meetups is that their signup is
 already happening online, so that should be fairly easy to automate.

 **So now what?**
 I strongly feel we should see the badges as a reward for contributions to
 the project in the broadest sense possible.

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Ticket URL: <https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/3878#comment:21>
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