Changes between Version 8 and Version 9 of VolunteerRecruit


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Timestamp:
Apr 24, 2014, 10:29:55 AM (10 years ago)
Author:
davea
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  • VolunteerRecruit

    v8 v9  
    22= Recruiting and retaining volunteers =
    33
    4 The following is a list of suggestions for getting more people to participate in your project. Much of this is based on [http://boinc.berkeley.edu/poll_results.php the results of the BOINC user survey]; study this yourself.
    5 
    6 Most of these suggestions involve writing prose to be read by the general public. If (like many scientists) you are not good at this or avoid doing it, find someone who is good at it. This could be one of your students, a friend of a friend, or a professional writer.
    7 
    8 English is the most widely-spoken language among BOINC participants, and you should probably use it as the main language for web materials and email. BOINC provides mechanisms for [TranslateIntro Web site translation]; it's generally easy to get volunteers to do this.
     4The following is a list of suggestions for getting more people to participate in your project.
     5Much of this is based on [http://boinc.berkeley.edu/poll/poll_results.php the results of the BOINC user survey];
     6study this yourself.
     7
     8Most of these suggestions involve writing prose to be read by the general public.
     9Find a good writer.
     10This could be one of your students, a friend of a friend, or a professional writer.
     11
     12English is the most widely-spoken language among BOINC participants,
     13and you should probably use it as the main language for web materials and email.
     14BOINC provides mechanisms for [TranslateIntro Web site translation];
     15it's generally easy to get volunteers to do this.
    916
    1017== Project web site ==
    1118Your project's web site has a large role in attracting participants. Some suggestions:
    1219
    13     * Present your project's credentials: the educational credentials of its leaders, its research track record, and the status of its institution.
    14     * Describe what your project is doing: its high-level scientific goals, its methods, the details of the computation being done using volunteers, and the (non-distributed) computations that precede and follow this. How will your research affect the lives of everyday people now and/or 50 years from now?
    15     * Who owns the intellectual property that arises from volunteer computations? Will it be released to the public? When, and under what terms?
    16     * Show all the scientific results of the computation so far, and any publications that arise from these results. ([http://depts.washington.edu/~bakerpg/publications.html Rosetta@home] and [http://folding.stanford.edu/papers.html Folding@home] provide good examples of this). Announce new results and publications on the News column. Make sure your News column is being properly published as an RSS feed.
    17     * Give some personal information about your team members: their names, background, interests, and preferably a photograph. This will 'humanize' your project in the eyes of potential participants.
    18     * Take an active role in your web site's message boards. Read them frequently, and respond quickly to any negative threads that arise. Make a periodic posting giving 'insider info' on your project.
    19     * Make sure your the web site has clear navigation, so that the above information is easy to find from the front page. Do a user study - show your web site to a strangers, ask them to browse it and/or to find particular information, and get their feedback (you may be surprised).
    20     * If possible, create a graphical identity (logo, color scheme, etc.) for your project. Your web site should project professionalism and inspire confidence and interest in prospective volunteers.
     20  * Present your project's credentials:
     21    the educational credentials of its leaders, its research track record, and the status of its institution.
     22  * Describe what your project is doing: its high-level scientific goals,
     23    its methods, the details of the computation being done using volunteers,
     24    and the (non-distributed) computations that precede and follow this.
     25    How will your research affect the lives of everyday people now and/or 50 years from now?
     26  * Who owns the intellectual property that arises from volunteer computations?
     27    Will it be released to the public? When, and under what terms?
     28  * Show all the scientific results of the computation so far,
     29    and any publications that arise from these results.
     30    ([http://depts.washington.edu/~bakerpg/publications.html Rosetta@home]
     31    and [http://folding.stanford.edu/papers.html Folding@home] provide good examples of this).
     32    Announce new results and publications on the News column.
     33    Make sure your News column is being properly published as an RSS feed.
     34  * Give some personal information about your team members:
     35    their names, background, interests, and preferably a photograph.
     36    This will 'humanize' your project in the eyes of potential participants.
     37  * Take an active role in your web site's message boards.
     38    Read them frequently, and respond quickly to any negative threads that arise.
     39    Make a periodic posting giving 'insider info' on your project.
     40  * Make sure your the web site has clear navigation,
     41    so that the above information is easy to find from the front page.
     42    Do a user study - show your web site to a strangers,
     43    ask them to browse it and/or to find particular information,
     44    and get their feedback (you may be surprised).
     45  * If possible, create a graphical identity (logo, color scheme, etc.) for your project.
     46    Your web site should project professionalism and inspire confidence
     47    and interest in prospective volunteers.
    2148
    2249== Publicity ==
    23 The world will not beat a path to your door. You need to work hard to spread the word about your project.
    24 
    25     * Get in the mass media (newspapers, magazines, radio, television) as much as possible. If your institution has a PR director or media spokesperson, contact them while you're developing your project, and again any time your project has major news. If no such person is available, call local media outlets yourself.
    26     * Exploit existing organizational relationships. If you work at a University, try to get your project running on the PCs in the teaching labs, and on the PCs of students, faculty and staff. If you have connections with organizations with PR capabilities (i.e., web sites or newsletters), enlist their support for your project, and get them to publicize it. A typical example: professional organization in your subject area.
    27     * The BOINC web site will generally announce new projects. Also, make sure your project is listed on [AccountManagers account managers] like !GridRepublic and BAM!
    28     * Use the web. Announce your project in forums like Slashdot, and on the message boards of the major cross-project teams like BOINC Synergy, Overclockers UK, Team Anandtech, etc.
     50To get volunteers, you must publicize your project.
     51
     52  * Get in the mass media (newspapers, magazines, radio, television).
     53    If your institution has a PR director or media spokesperson,
     54    contact them while you're developing your project,
     55    and again any time your project has major news.
     56    If no such person is available, call local media outlets yourself.
     57  * Exploit existing organizational relationships.
     58    If you work at a University, try to get your project running on the PCs in the teaching labs,
     59    and on the PCs of students, faculty and staff.
     60    If you have connections with organizations with PR capabilities
     61    (i.e., web sites or newsletters),
     62    enlist their support for your project, and get them to publicize it.
     63    A typical example: professional organization in your subject area.
     64  * The BOINC web site will generally announce new projects.
     65    Also, make sure your project is listed on [AccountManagers account managers]
     66    like !GridRepublic and BAM!
     67  * Use the web.
     68    Announce your project in forums like Slashdot,
     69    and on the message boards of the major cross-project teams like BOINC Synergy,
     70    Overclockers UK, Team Anandtech, etc.
    2971
    3072== Email-based mechanisms ==
    … …  
    3274BOINC provides PHP-based tools for sending three types of email to participants:
    3375
    34     * ''Newsletters''. These are periodic (perhaps every few months) and are sent to all participants. Typically you would use them to summarize your project's results, to discuss its future plans, to make announcements, etc.
    35     * ''Reminders''. These are sent to participants who seem to have stopped computing to your project, or who signed up but never got any credit. Typically they would be short messages, encouraging the participant to take a specific action.
    36     * ''Friend-to-friend''. These are sent by participants to their friends and family, to tell them about your project and urge them to join. The sender can add an optional message.
    37 
    38 Effective use of all types of email is critical to maintaining and growing your participant base. In the absence of any email, participation typically decreases by a few percent every month. BOINC supplies the framework, but you must write the actual emails, or modify BOINC's samples as needed for your project.
     76  * ''Newsletters''. These are periodic (perhaps every few months)
     77  and are sent to all participants.
     78  Typically you would use them to summarize your project's results,
     79  to discuss its future plans, to make announcements, etc.
     80  * ''Reminders''. These are sent to participants who seem to
     81    have stopped computing to your project, or who signed up but never got any credit.
     82    Typically they would be short messages,
     83    encouraging the participant to take a specific action.
     84  * ''Friend-to-friend''. These are sent by participants to their friends and family,
     85    to tell them about your project and urge them to join.
     86    The sender can add an optional message.
     87
     88Effective use of all types of email is critical to maintaining and growing your participant base.
     89In the absence of any email, participation typically decreases by a few percent every month.
     90BOINC supplies the framework, but you must write the actual emails,
     91or modify BOINC's samples as needed for your project.
    3992
    4093The newsletter and reminder scripts provide the following features:
    4194
    42     * They let you send different emails to different 'classes' of participants. For example, you can send a different newsletter to participants who haven't computed for your project in a while.
    43     * They let you personalize emails, e.g. by inserting the participant's name or their total credit.
    44     * They provide a mechanism for inserting a secure 'opt-out' link. Note: You should ALWAYS include an 'opt-out' link at the bottom of emails (both HTML and text). It may be illegal for you to do a mass email without one. Make sure you test this link.
    45 
    46 The scripts requires that you use [http://phpmailer.sourceforge.net/ PHPMailer], a PHP function for sending mail that is more full-featured than the one built into PHP. Download it, put it in `html/inc`, and set the `USE_PHPMAILER`, `PHPMAILER_HOST`, and `PHPMAILER_MAILER` variables in [WebConfig your project.inc file].
    47 
    48 All of the tools let you send multipart HTML/text messages. We recommend that you use this feature - and HTML message can include your logo and/or institutional insignia, can include hyperlinks, and can look more attractive.
     95  * They let you send different emails to different 'classes' of participants.
     96    For example, you can send a different newsletter to participants
     97    who haven't computed for your project in a while.
     98  * They let you personalize emails, e.g. by inserting the participant's name or their total credit.
     99  * They provide a mechanism for inserting a secure 'opt-out' link.
     100    Note: You should ALWAYS include an 'opt-out' link at the bottom of emails (both HTML and text).
     101    It may be illegal for you to do a mass email without one. Make sure you test this link.
     102
     103The scripts requires that you use [http://phpmailer.sourceforge.net/ PHPMailer],
     104a PHP function for sending mail that is more full-featured than the one built into PHP.
     105Download it, put it in `html/inc`, and set the `USE_PHPMAILER`, `PHPMAILER_HOST`,
     106and `PHPMAILER_MAILER` variables in [WebConfig your project.inc file].
     107
     108All of the tools let you send multipart HTML/text messages.
     109We recommend that you use this feature - and HTML message
     110can include your logo and/or institutional insignia, can include hyperlinks,
     111and can look more attractive.
    49112
    50113The general procedure for using each scripts is:
    51114
    52     * Create a directory (mass_email, reminder_email, or ffmail) in your `html/ops/` directory. In that directory, create separate files for the text body template, HTML body template, and subject line to be sent to each class of participants. NOTE: the HTML files are optional; if you leave them out, text-only emails will be sent.
    53     * Run the script in testing mode (see below) to ensure that the emails are as you intend.
    54     * Once testing is complete, run the script in production mode. Typically, the newsletter script is run from the command line. The reminder script is typically run as a [ProjectTasks periodic task], every 24 hours or so.
    55 
    56 The newsletter and reminder scripts use the recent-average credit (expavg_credit) field in the user table. To make sure this value is accurate, run [ProjectTasks update_stats] manually if you're not running it as a periodic task.
     115  * Create a directory (mass_email, reminder_email, or ffmail) in your `html/ops/` directory.
     116    In that directory, create separate files for the text body template,
     117    HTML body template, and subject line to be sent to each class of participants.
     118    NOTE: the HTML files are optional; if you leave them out, text-only emails will be sent.
     119  * Run the script in testing mode (see below) to ensure that the emails are as you intend.
     120  * Once testing is complete, run the script in production mode.
     121    Typically, the newsletter script is run from the command line.
     122    The reminder script is typically run as a [ProjectTasks periodic task], every 24 hours or so.
     123
     124The newsletter and reminder scripts use the recent-average credit
     125(expavg_credit) field in the user table.
     126To make sure this value is accurate, run [ProjectTasks update_stats]
     127manually if you're not running it as a periodic task.
    57128
    58129=== Personalizing emails ===
    59130
    60 The newsletter and reminder scripts replace the following macros in your email bodies (both HTML and text):
     131The newsletter and reminder scripts replace the following macros in your email bodies
     132(both HTML and text):
    61133
    62134 `<name/>`::            User name
    … …  
    76148== Newsletters ==
    77149
    78 The script [source:boinc/html/ops/mass_email_script.php html/ops/mass_email_script.php] is for sending email newsletters.
     150The script [source:boinc/html/ops/mass_email_script.php html/ops/mass_email_script.php]
     151is for sending email newsletters.
    79152Run it from the command line.
    80153The optional arguments are:
    … …  
    89162The script categorizes participants as follows:
    90163
    91     * ''Failed'': zero total credit. These people failed to download and install the client software, or failed to get it working (e.g. because of proxy problems) or uninstalled it before finishing any work.  Email to them should include a link to the BOINC help page (http://boinc.berkeley.edu/help.php) or other help resources.
     164  * ''Failed'': zero total credit.
     165    These people failed to download and install the client software,
     166    or failed to get it working (e.g. because of proxy problems)
     167    or uninstalled it before finishing any work.
     168    Email to them should include a link to the BOINC help page
     169    (http://boinc.berkeley.edu/help.php) or other help resources.
    92170    * ''Lapsed'': nonzero credit, but their computers have not contacted your server in > 60 days.
    93171    * ''Current'': These are your active participants.
    … …  
    177255mass_email_script.php --send
    178256}}}
    179 It will now send mass emails. Depending on the size of your user table, it may take hours or days to complete. You can control-C it and restart whenever you want; it automatically picks up where it left off (see below).
     257It will now send mass emails.
     258Depending on the size of your user table, it may take hours or days to complete.
     259You can control-C it and restart whenever you want;
     260it automatically picks up where it left off (see below).
    180261
    181262=== Checkpoint/restart ===
    182263
    183 `mass_email_script.php` manages checkpoint/restart when dealing with large numbers of participants. Mails are sent in order of increasing user ID. The file `email_log` has a list of IDs that have been processed. On startup, the script reads this file, finds the last entry, and starts from there.
     264`mass_email_script.php` manages checkpoint/restart when dealing with large numbers of participants.
     265Mails are sent in order of increasing user ID.
     266The file `email_log` has a list of IDs that have been processed.
     267On startup, the script reads this file, finds the last entry, and starts from there.
    184268
    185269If you are starting a mass email from the beginning, empty the file mass_email/log; i.e.
    … …  
    202286The script categorizes users as follows.
    203287
    204     * Failed: the account was created at least 14 days ago, has zero total credit, and hasn't received a reminder email in 30 days. These people typically either had a technical glitch, or their hardware and/or preferences didn't allow sending them work, or the application crashed on their host. The reminder email should direct them to a web page that helps them fix these problems.
    205     * Lapsed: the user has positive total credit, hasn't done a scheduler RPC in the past 60 days, and hasn't been sent a reminder email in the past 30 days. They probably stopped running BOINC or detached this project. The reminder email should gently prod them to start running BOINC and attach to this project again.
     288  * Failed: the account was created at least 14 days ago, has zero total credit,
     289    and hasn't received a reminder email in 30 days.
     290    These people typically either had a technical glitch,
     291    or their hardware and/or preferences didn't allow sending them work,
     292    or the application crashed on their host.
     293    The reminder email should direct them to a web page that helps them fix these problems.
     294  * Lapsed: the user has positive total credit,
     295    hasn't done a scheduler RPC in the past 60 days,
     296    and hasn't been sent a reminder email in the past 30 days.
     297    They probably stopped running BOINC or detached this project.
     298    The reminder email should gently prod them to start running BOINC
     299    and attach to this project again.
    206300
    207301The numbers 14, 30, and 60 are all parameters in the script; edit it to change them.
    … …  
    216310 `lapsed_subject`::     Subject line sent to lapsed users
    217311
    218 `remind.php` can be run as often as you like. We recommend running it every 24 hours, specifying it as a task in [ProjectTasks config.xml]. When it sends email to a user, it stores the time in their database record, and won't send them another email for at least 30 days. For this reason, it has no checkpoint/restart mechanism.
     312`remind.php` can be run as often as you like.
     313We recommend running it every 24 hours, specifying it as a task in [ProjectTasks config.xml].
     314When it sends email to a user,
     315it stores the time in their database record,
     316and won't send them another email for at least 30 days.
     317For this reason, it has no checkpoint/restart mechanism.
    219318
    220319The procedure for testing your reminder email is similar to that for email newsletters (see above).
    … …  
    222321== Friend-to-friend emails ==
    223322
    224 The web page `ffemail_form.php` lets users send emails to their friends. To use this feature, you must create the following files in `html/ops/ffmail/`:
     323The web page `ffemail_form.php` lets users send emails to their friends.
     324To use this feature, you must create the following files in `html/ops/ffmail/`:
    225325
    226326 `subject`::    The subject line used for friend-to-friend emails
    … …  
    228328 `text`::       Text template for friend-to-friend emails
    229329
    230 Samples are supplied for each of these. The following macros are substituted in the message bodies:
     330Samples are supplied for each of these.
     331The following macros are substituted in the message bodies:
    231332
    232333 `<fromname/>`:: The name of the sender