Season of Docs 2021 Organization Application p5.js

Hello! p5.js is participating in Google Season of Docs this year, which means we are hiring two technical writers to help improve p5.js documentation. If you're a coder with writing knowledge or a writer with coding knowledge, this is a great opportunity to help lower the barrier to entry for new users or contributors to p5.js. There are two projects you can work on, either the new contributor onboarding experience or the Friendly Errors system.

The stipend is $6000 and you will have the support of two mentors, as well as the support of the p5.js Project Leads evelyn masso + Qianqian Ye, and the p5.js Editor lead Cassie Tarakajian. Work is part-time from May 17, 2021 through November 12, 2021.

Application

🌸 Please apply by filling this form or by email. 🌸

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The application will close on May 12, 2021 at midnight around the world.

About p5.js Google Season of Docs

If you have questions about an idea or need guidance on your application, please post to the Processing Forum. This is the best way to get feedback and develop your idea. This makes it possible for everyone to learn from your questions and contribute their thoughts.

p5.js is a JavaScript library that starts with the original goal of Processing, to make coding accessible for artists, designers, educators, beginners, and reinterprets this for today's web. Using the original metaphor of a software sketchbook, p5.js has a full set of drawing functionality. However, you’re not limited to your drawing canvas, you can think of your whole browser page as your sketch! p5.js has addon libraries that make it easy to interact with other HTML5 objects, including text, input, video, webcam, and sound. p5.js is a new interpretation of Processing, not an emulation or port, and it is in active development.

We hope to work with 2 technical writers, one focusing on new contributor onboarding experience, and one focusing on improving the Friendly Error System (FES) and documentation.

p5.js Google Season of Docs 2021 Projects

1. New contributor onboarding experience

This project involves thinking about the experience for new contributors to the project. How can the README, developer_docs, and other documentation be improved to make it easier for new people to contribute, especially those without deep experience coding or contributing to open source? This may also involve looking at GitHub community communications and implementing structures that enable new contributors to get help in making their first pull requests.

• Expected Outcomes: Update of contributor docs, implementation of new community practices for facilitating beginners in contributing.
• Skills Required: JavaScript, GitHub, communication skills
• Difficulty: beginner, intermediate, or advanced

2. Improve Friendly Error System (FES) and documentation

The Friendly Error System (FES) is a system designed to help new programmers with common user errors as they get started learning. It catches common beginning errors and provides clear language and links to help a user resolve the error. This project would involve improving the FES documentation. This might mean things like updating the FES developer doc, and adding comments inline to the code. Another big goal we have is to add internationalization/localization to the FES so error messages may be given in different languages.

• Expected Outcomes: Improvement of p5.js FES and documentation
• Skills Required: JavaScript, familiarity with Github or version control
• Difficulty: intermediate, advanced

Expected Tasks:

• Meet with the mentor to set project timeline and discuss expectations
• Review README and developer documentation for usability of beginners
• Make sure contributor docs are updated and in accordance with the current software version
• Research best practices for onboarding new contributors
• Create best practices document for new users based on the aforementioned research phase
• For FES, working with translators to implement non-English language translations
• Share project findings with the p5.js community (live-presentation or blog-post)

Skills Required:

• Javascript
• GitHub Experience
• Communication Skills
• Interest in community building

Project Timeline: Please use Google Season of Docs Timeline as reference.

Possible Mentors: Stalgia Grigg, Evelyn Masso, Saber Khan, Aáron Montoya-Moraga, Kenneth Lim, and more.

+ Project Budget

Budget Item

• Technical Writer: New Contributor Onboarding Experience $6000

• Technical writer will improve contributor docs, research and implement new community practices for beginning users.

• Technical Writer: Improve Friendly Error System (FES) & Documentation $6000

• Technical writer will improve documentation, provide updates to the FES overview doc and add comments inline to the code.

• Mentor Stipends $500 x 4 = $2000 (4 mentors x $500 each, 2 dedicated mentors per project)

TOTAL: $14,000