Core Contributor Foundation

This page moved from CommunityLifeCycle, see also CommunityPatternsRoadmap.

Note that the "Core Contributor Foundation" was written as an example of a commonly accepted pattern form, not as an actual pattern. The original author does not believe it is a pattern.

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Online communities often experience similar problems within similar contexts. Often the solutions to these problems are alike. Here is a simple example of a proposed pattern:

Name: Core contributor foundation

Context: A new community focusing on a specific topic. Most members are interested in the topic, but are not greatly committed to the new community.

Problem: Not enough material to hold people's interest. Several members plan to leave the community soon.

Forces:

• If contributions are infrequent, readers may stop looking for new material.
• With fewer readers, contributors may not feel the community is worth the effort of creating material
• There is a core group of people dedicated to the new community.

Solution: Core members of the community share the effort of contributing a consistent flow of material. When some core members are unable to contribute, others contribute more to maintain the flow.

Resulting Context: A consistent flow of material is maintained, attracting a larger group of readers. Non-core contributors have examples of good material which they can emulate and build upon. Core contributors may feel that they are overworked.

Examples:

• WikiWikiWeb, 1995-1996. Several authors were directly invited to help build the community.
• OrgPatterns wiki. (Insert text why this fits the pattern.)
• SlashDot. Has an "editorial team" who often contribute news items. Most are contributed by slashdot readers, rather than its administrators.
• CoreIdeology. An strong organization is kept strong with a core ideology. (Is this an example? It is more a relation to another topic)