[21:18:20] Hey I_Jethrobot. [21:18:35] tos - Hey Soni. Everything OK? [21:18:42] SOrry for being terribly late, but I've been stuck with no internet for the past 3 hours [21:19:37] Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that, [21:19:48] Yeah, there's not a whole lot you can do about that. : \ [21:20:48] As I said, internet's been finicky and non existent for the most part, sorry for dc [21:21:04] JUst managed to convince a friend and get working internet on his laptop for a while [21:21:38] tos2 - Thank your friend for me. : ) [21:21:47] Done :) [21:21:49] tos2 - How were festivities yesterday? [21:22:47] The festivities were nice. I've been under a cold so I had to give most of it a miss, but I did enjoy my bit :) [21:23:14] tos2 - Good, I'm glad you got to enjoy yourself a little. [21:23:39] tos2 - So, I wanted to talk briefly about our current mentors we have signed up. [21:24:00] Right. [21:24:43] tos2 - I think it's a good idea to start having some open discussions with them, perhaps through a Co-op talk page, about how the space is going to work. [21:25:51] WHat sort of discussions do you have in mind, I_Jethrobot? [21:26:24] Well, the main idea is to get mentors to feel invested in the space, not just for the pilot, but beyond it as well. [21:27:46] tos2 - Two goals I have mind for these conversations: 1) Inform them of our expectations and how the space is planned to work, and 2) allow them the freedom to figure out systems that work best for them. [21:28:54] For #2, it's very possible we may change a few things based on their feedback, because I'm motivated to keep them involved, so long as the changes are reasonable. [21:29:49] So, for instance, if they decide they want to have a maitre'd equivalent for the Co-op (like at the Teahouse), we could do that, even though we don't currently have anything like that in our plans./ [21:31:08] Makes sense. So in a way we're getting their feedback as a sort of sounding board for our current plans, while at the same time trying to make sure the mentors themselves are invested enough to actively participate in the Co-op [21:33:33] So, I think in getting ready, we should plan a few things: [21:35:07] 1) When do we want to invite them to discuss these matters? [21:35:33] 2) What expectations / information do we want to tell them about mentoring and the space itself? [21:36:06] 3) What questions do we want to ask them to think about and will encourage ownership of the space? [21:36:53] tos2 - One thing I thought might be helpful is contacting Sarah Stierch, who planned the Teahouse, to help use with some of these questions. [21:37:01] help us* [21:38:19] That's actually a great idea. Even though I have some idea about how the Teahouse currently functions, first hand knowledge about the time it was being set up will be actually very helpful [21:40:17] tos2 - Agreed. So, what I'd like you to do is to get in touch with Sarah Stierch over e-mail to query her on this matter. Her handle on Wikipedia is Missvain. [21:40:29] I think she should have the "E-mail user" option enabled... [21:41:15] Yeah, she does. [21:41:37] She does as a matter of fact [21:43:18] I'd ask her if she'd like to have a meeting over Google Hangouts with you and I. So, just inform her about our space (you can provide a link to WP:Co-op or our grant page), let her know that we're interested in learning about how she engaged with hosts early on, and see when she might be available next week. [21:45:28] Sure thing. Is there anything else I should be making sure to include in my mail? [21:50:24] I_Jethrobot: ^ [21:50:32] tos2 - No, I think that's good for now. Should she reply, be sure to CC me. [21:50:42] Sure thing. [21:50:55] tos2 - I know you can't do CC'ing from the E-mail user thinger they have there, so that's fine. [21:52:10] tos2 - I also sent out wireframes from Dustin: [21:52:12] https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bwj9ysYHuqmOd1luYjdvT0Ewanc/edit [21:53:10] These are the basic layouts for the profile page (pg. 1) and the mentor profile creation page (pg. 2) [21:53:38] Hmmmm.... I like most of how Page 1 looks but Page 2 looks pretty ill suited to our needs, I think [21:54:11] Well, we do need a profile creation process for mentors, I think. [21:55:54] Completely agreed. [21:56:07] tos2 - Can I ask what about it is ill-suited? [21:56:26] But I feel that the information we could be taking is much different from what its currently taking in [21:57:43] For example, the four checkboxes are pretty vague on their own and its hard for any mentor to understand what they mean and decide what skills they are good at based on the options presented [21:59:09] At the same time, there are editors who would conform to some of the skills in a particular subsection but not all, so their choice of ticking or not ticking the checkbox could potentially end up giving us a few false positives in a way [22:00:41] An alternate way to deal with the issue, in my opinion, will be for us to ask them to describe what roles onWiki they take on. These roles are something mentors are actually familiar with so they'd know what a COntent creator is [22:01:15] And at the same time, we'd know that anyone experienced in Content Creation would be well suited for Writing and Editing [22:01:31] Yeah, I get that, but we do need to consider that in order to actually make matches, we need a similar system for learners and mentors to choose from, otherwise it gets complicated. [22:02:13] It's also possible for us to clarify what we mean by "Writing and Editing" [22:02:43] Hmmm... My idea was that mentors could easily choose one or more roles from the list, and the roles themselves could connect with one or more subsections, based on what the mentors are most experienced in [22:04:12] But what you said also makes sense. It very much is possible for us to clarify what writing and editing means. [22:04:43] Yeah, I agree that adding subsections would be a good way to clarify those categories better. [22:05:25] In such a scenario though, I personally would like the mentors to then write a line or two about their experience in the field of Writingand Editing, so we'd have a fair idea about the mentor's experience [22:05:29] But I suspect mentors will be generally willing to help out with one (or more) of these general categories once they understand what some of the subsections would be. [22:05:41] Yeah, I think that's fair. [22:06:23] Right. I believe we could have enough flexiblity to pursue the same [22:06:27] So, we can encourage a little bit of that under the free text section "Tell us a little about yourself" section. [22:06:47] I think we could word it a little better though [22:07:16] Tell us about yourself doesnt seem to be a good way to get information about mentorship experience from anyone. [22:07:31] Yeah, something like, "Tell us a little about yourself, and describe your experience in the above topic area(s)." [22:07:42] If we want mentors to tell s more about themselves in general, that [22:07:51] free text would be good for their profile [22:08:05] But as far as actual matching and mentorship experience goes [22:09:00] I believe we could use text to the llines to "What areas on wiki have you been involved in" will make more sense (Obviously the statement would need to be refined a lot) [22:09:59] Sure, and this is a question we can toss to mentors as well when we talk with them. [22:11:00] And the other thing that needs to be rephrased will be "Why you would be a good mentor". Its a fair question but one I fear might come off as too impolite [22:11:40] Yeah, I think you're right there. [22:12:11] We can actually frame that a little differently and ask, "Why do you want to mentor?" [22:12:31] Which will likely yield much more positive responses. [22:13:01] that is, responses that are favorable for community-building./ [22:13:56] Thats much better. I personally was going for something more likely to get us more information from them [22:14:30] Maybe something along the lines of, "how has your experience dealing with newcomers on Wikipedia been" [22:17:10] tos4 - Hm, "dealing with newcomers" sounds a little negative as well. [22:17:24] Well, let's ponder over that for a bit. [22:17:33] Hmm.. Fair point. How about "interacting with newcomers" [22:17:47] tos4 - Anyway, I have to go, but send that e-mail to Sarah and let me know if she gets back to you. [22:17:59] RIght, sure thing. [22:18:28] Talk to you later, Soni! I'll be in touch. [22:18:42] Bye I_Jethrobot. Do let me know when the next meeting is scheduled.