Supporting The Masses (without losing your mind)

WordCamp Chicago, 2012

Transcript

1. How to Support The
   Masses
   

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2. Without losing your mind
   Tips and tricks to keeping it
   all in perspective, while still
   giving people the best
   experience possible when it
   comes to support.
   

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3. Who Am I?
   Mika A. Epstein
   (a.k.a. Ipstenu)
   Over a decade of
   supporting technologists,
   programmers ...
   and grandmothers
   

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4. I have the
   BEST IDEA!
   It starts with you and your
   dream (or desire).
   

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5. I assemble my code
   

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6. And it’s awesome!
   

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7. YAY! Version 1.0.0!!!!!
   

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8. Wow! People are
   using my plugin!!!
   

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9. Not everyone likes it...
   

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10. http://wordpress.org/support/
    view/plugin-committer/YOURHANDLE
    

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11. Do I want to
    help them?
    Do I want to spend my time
    doing support?
    You don’t have to!
    But....
    

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12. What’s in your README?
    • Are there alternate support methods?
    • Email, other forums, UserVoice?
    • Is there no support?
    • Is there only paid support?
    

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13. Unless you clearly state
    otherwise on your plugin
    page, users have a
    reasonable expectation
    that you will provide free
    support in the
    WordPress.org Forums.
    

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14. Is it really
    my problem?
    Valid complaints?
    Reasonable requests?
    Not RTFMing?
    

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15. Okay, I’m going to help!
    • Can I reproduce it?
    • Have they tried
    turning off other
    plugins?
    • Have they tried
    using the default
    theme?
    

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16. Oh! It’s a conflict!
    

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17. Should I fix it?
    • Is it a security hole?
    • Is it in the scope of
    your plugin?
    • Is the other plugin/
    theme behaving
    badly?
    

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18. •Be honest
    •Be direct
    •Consider patches from users
    •Ask for help
    If you can’t fix it...
    

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19. What about
    requests?
    My users want special
    features.
    Well ... Okay.
    

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20. It totally
    needs a
    unicorn!
    Yeah, I know it’s an
    RSS plugin, man, but
    think about it!
    UNICORNS!
    

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21. JUST
    SAY
    NO!
    

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22. Keep sight of your scope
    • What problem did I want to solve with
    this plugin?
    • What logical extensions can be added?
    • What can be easily added?
    • What can I add and still support?
    

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23. But I want the unicorn!
    

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24. You can still say no.
    

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25. It’s okay to ...
    • walk away
    • say no
    • get mad
    • give up
    • ask for help
    

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26. It’s not okay to...
    • blame them (even if it’s
    their fault)
    • be mean
    • accept abuse
    • ignore them*
    

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27. Tips
    So what should I do?
    

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28. Document It
    What it does
    What it doesn’t
    How it works
    Support options
    Known/common errors
    

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29. If you make a
    BIG change ...
    DOCUMENT
    IT!!
    REMEMBER!
    

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30. Take Time
    Think before you answer
    Study the error reports
    Test possibilities
    Take time for yourself
    

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31. Be this
    guy!
    Walk away from the
    computer once in a
    while
    

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32. I have a life! It’s ...
    

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33. Don’t Attack!
    They’re not attacking you
    Don’t bite the users
    Passion makes people seem
    aggressive
    Strong opinions can be
    misread easily in text!
    

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34. Don’t be
    this guy
    http://xkcd.com/386/
    What do you want me
    to do? LEAVE? Then
    they'll keep being
    wrong!
    

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35. EOL
    What if I’m just done with this plugin?
    

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36. Warn them!
    “This is no longer
    supported.”
    Push a final version to
    notify users.
    Alerts in the admin screen
    

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37. Hand off?
    Give it to someone else.
    Ask someone to take it
    over.
    Email wp-hackers.
    Post in the forums.
    

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38. The End
    

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