1  # Growing our Community
  2  
  3  This is a list of practical tips and suggestions on how you can take
  4  part in, help to strengthen and grow our community.
  5  
  6  If you haven’t done so yet, please read our [Mission and Core
  7  Values](getting-started/mission-and-core-values.md "wikilink") and
  8  ensure you follow our [Code of
  9  Conduct](getting-started/code-of-conduct.md "wikilink"), as these are
 10  closely aligned.
 11  
 12  ## How to Get Involved
 13  
 14    - At the moment much of the community communication takes place on
 15      slack. A first step to getting involved can be as simple as joining
 16      [our Slack](status-im.slack.com "wikilink") and saying “hi” (we're
 17      friendly people\!).
 18    - Take a look around the Slack channels, where you will find
 19      \#dev-status, \#dapp-chat, \#lll etc.
 20    - When you get to know people in the community who have interests or
 21      skills then let them know about or invite them to join the channels
 22      that play to their strengths.
 23    - If you think there is a need for a channel (but you're unsure) then
 24      please drop in to \#channel-manager and make a proposal: **Make sure
 25      that the channel name is easy to understand**. The description
 26      should help others make a quick decision which channels they should
 27      join.
 28  
 29  ## Highlighting & Managing Needs
 30  
 31    - Share your ideas on how we can make the list of tasks and needed
 32      contributions more easily visible. The more accessible and
 33      manageable tasks become to the community the better.
 34    - Simple requests can be addressed by individual people, long complex
 35      tasks may require a handful of people to complete, so encourage and
 36      help create bands of people to accomplish those.
 37    - If you know someone who would be great for a task, let them know\!
 38      Don't pressure them if they are too busy.
 39    - Do your best to keep tasks as specific as possible, work to create
 40      clear goals. Offer people specific and challenging goals that suit
 41      them, and keep them accountable in a friendly, non-pushy manner.
 42    - Give clear feedback, and challenges that exercise people’s skills to
 43      their limits.
 44    - How can we improve our tools for finding and tracking work that
 45      needs to be done? The easier it is for everyone to see what needs to
 46      be done, the easier it is to contribute – If you have a suggestion
 47      then let everyone know your ideas\!
 48    - If you are prominent in the community it is your duty to more
 49      frequently ask people if they are available for tasks.
 50  
 51  ## Culture
 52  
 53    - Status is focused on the *Ethereum Public Blockchain*. We want to
 54      retain and enhance the collaborative culture which has driven the
 55      creation of Ethereum itself, but we aim to approach our ideals of
 56      open participation with a level of pragmatism and we recognise that
 57      there is also a place in the world for private Blockchains.
 58    - People are more willing to contribute to their community when they
 59      see that others are contributing too, and that their own
 60      contributions are useful and valued.
 61    - Always communicate the benefits of contribution, it will positively
 62      impact everyone in the community and increase the number of people
 63      who will care, and perhaps contribute.
 64    - Development will take as long as it has to. While we all recognise
 65      this, we encourage clear goals, aligned with "soft deadlines" which
 66      will help encourage and focus contribution.
 67    - Our community is a place where friendships develop, and perhaps
 68      occasional disagreements crop up too. Just remember that we're all
 69      human, and it will be easier and more fun if we treat each other
 70      with respect.
 71    - Remember, we're all good at different things and in different ways;
 72      even the best of us make mistakes.
 73    - Never be silent about positive feedback\! If things are going well,
 74      let people know\! Good feelings will enhance peoples motivation.
 75    - Make an effort to become familiar with anyone who is contributing to
 76      the project, and get to know them over time.
 77  
 78  ## Gratitude & Reciprocity
 79  
 80    - Think of ways you can encourage people to commit to contributing to
 81      the community on a long term basis. Whether that's taking an
 82      interest in someone, highlighting a task they might find interesting
 83      or even reminding them how we appreciate their accomplishments. In
 84      doing so we can raise everyone’s willingness to keep this project
 85      alive.
 86    - Start by acknowledging each other, whether that's welcoming people
 87      to the community or thanking them for their contributions.
 88    - Free Software communities like ours thrive on reciprocity. When you
 89      contribute to the community you encourage other people to contribute
 90      too\! The way you contribute will help to shape the culture of the
 91      entire community, as the contributions you make influence the
 92      contributions of others.
 93    - Offer more frequent feedback on tasks & contributions that have a
 94      definate goal.
 95    - Give constructive feedback on people’s performance, and if they like
 96      competition - encourage friendly competition with others.
 97    - Negative feedback can be helpful too. We encourage *constructive*
 98      criticism and friendly debate, as long as it remains *friendly*.
 99    - Find other ways to reward contributors, either through your own
100      words, actions or material.
101    - Actively highlight and communicate your mistakes *and*
102      accomplishments, be accepting of those who do. The faster mistakes
103      are discovered the faster we can solve them, and the faster we can
104      praise your accomplishments.
105    - Any rewards should not be based on tasks but rather on consistent
106      performance. Rewards should be impromptu.
107    - Adding task-contingent rewards (for doing or finishing a task) to an
108      interesting task causes people to be less interested and successful
109      in the task. (This effect is larger for monetary rewards than for
110      prizes, status rewards and charitable donations.)
111  
112  ## Conversation
113  
114    - If you have something you share that you think aligns with the
115      general interests of the community, share it in the \#general
116      [Slack](http://slack.status.im) channel.
117    - Going off-topic is okay\! But try and keep your conversations in
118      their most appropriate \#channel.
119    - Having a custom profile picture allows other people to recognise
120      you. If you like, show your face\! It comes in handy when developing
121      friendships or finding each other A.F.K.
122    - If you see any work that involves Status, whether it's a blog post,
123      a contribution, someone talking about Status in another chat - let
124      everyone know\!
125    - How can we generate and show our metrics to different audiences?
126      Information like on how we're growing, both in absolute numbers and
127      as percentages\!
128    - Look at ways other successful communities are working, see if we can
129      find similarities or ways we can be better and talk about it.
130    - If you see any publicity and endorsements on Status, let people
131      know\!