Recognizing Community

Reasons we love community

1. Contribution - community helps improve the project
   1. documentation
   2. code
   3. bug reports
   4. feature requests
2. Promotion
   1. free advertising
   2. provide a human face

Recognition and reward mechanisms ensure health and growth of community

1. Incentivizing community engagement/activity
   1. help newcomers identify low-barrier entry points (e.g. Ubuntu bite-sized bugs)
   2. gamification (e.g. point accumulation/level-up systems (badges) )
   3. affiliation (team rosters? user groups? membership systems?)
2. Rewarding community activity
   1. accomplishments, achievement unlocking, Level-up (badge systems)
      1. automated systems (low time-investment from core members)
   2. personal touch (thank you email/note) from core project members make a difference
      1. reach out to first-time contributors, solicit feedback about contribution process
   3. recognize/thank contributors publicly (use project accomplishment landmarks to call out contributors)
   4. swag?