---
name: community-building
description: When the user wants to build, grow, or improve a developer community on Discord, Slack, or forums. Trigger phrases include "developer community," "Discord server," "Slack community," "community strategy," "community engagement," "community moderation," "community growth," or "community management."
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
---

# Community Building

This skill helps you build and manage developer communities on Discord, Slack, forums, and other platforms. Covers channel structure, onboarding, engagement programs, handling toxicity, and community-led growth.

---

## Before You Start

**Load your audience context first.** Read `.agents/developer-audience-context.md` to understand:

- Who your developers are (role, seniority, interests)
- Where they already hang out (to avoid competing platforms)
- What problems they discuss (community topic focus)
- How they communicate (formal vs. casual tone)

If the context file doesn't exist, run the `developer-audience-context` skill first.

---

## Platform Selection

### Comparison Matrix

| Platform | Best For | Pros | Cons |
|----------|----------|------|------|
| **Discord** | Developer tools, gaming, OSS | Real-time, rich features, free | Can be chaotic, less enterprise |
| **Slack** | Enterprise, B2B SaaS | Professional, familiar | Expensive at scale, message limits |
| **GitHub Discussions** | OSS projects | Integrated, async, searchable | Less community feel |
| **Discourse** | Long-form, searchable | SEO, threading, ownership | Maintenance, hosting costs |
| **Circle** | Courses, paid communities | Courses integration, clean | Paid, less developer-native |

### Decision Framework

| If your audience is... | Consider |
|------------------------|----------|
| Individual developers, OSS | Discord |
| Enterprise teams | Slack |
| Technical, async-preferred | GitHub Discussions |
| Mixed, need searchability | Discourse |
| Course/education based | Circle |

---

## Channel Structure

### Discord Channel Template

```
📢 INFORMATION
├── #welcome — First landing, rules, links
├── #announcements — Official updates (admin-only posting)
├── #rules — Code of conduct
└── #introductions — New member intros

💬 GENERAL
├── #general — Main discussion
├── #off-topic — Non-project chat
└── #show-what-you-built — Share projects

❓ SUPPORT
├── #help — General questions
├── #troubleshooting — Bug help
└── #feature-requests — Suggestions

🔧 TECHNICAL
├── #backend — Backend discussions
├── #frontend — Frontend discussions
└── #devops — Infrastructure discussions

🤝 COMMUNITY
├── #jobs — Job postings (if allowed)
├── #events — Meetups, conferences
└── #content — Blog posts, videos

📚 RESOURCES
├── #learning — Tutorials, courses
└── #tools — Useful tools and libraries
```

### Slack Channel Template

```
# welcome
# announcements (admin-only)
# general
# help
# random (off-topic)
# jobs (optional)
# introductions
# feedback
```

### Channel Guidelines

| Channel Type | Posting Rules | Moderation Level |
|--------------|---------------|------------------|
| **Announcements** | Admin only | N/A |
| **General** | On-topic discussion | Light |
| **Help** | Questions welcome, be patient | Medium |
| **Off-topic** | Anything goes (within CoC) | Light |
| **Jobs** | Structured format required | Heavy |
| **Introductions** | One post per person | Light |

---

## Onboarding Experience

### New Member Journey

```
Join Server
    ↓
Welcome Message (DM or public)
    ↓
Read Rules / Accept
    ↓
Verify (optional: GitHub, email)
    ↓
Introduce Yourself
    ↓
First Interaction
    ↓
Regular Member
```

### Welcome Message Template

**Discord DM:**
```
Welcome to [Community Name]! 👋

Here's how to get started:

1. Read the rules in #rules
2. Introduce yourself in #introductions
3. Ask questions in #help — we're friendly!

Quick links:
• Documentation: [link]
• Getting started: [link]
• GitHub: [link]

We're glad you're here!
```

**Public #welcome channel:**
```
# Welcome to [Community Name]!

We're [brief description of who you are and what you do].

## Quick Start

1. **Read the rules** → #rules
2. **Introduce yourself** → #introductions
3. **Get help** → #help
4. **Chat with us** → #general

## Useful Links

- [Documentation]
- [GitHub]
- [Website]

## Questions?

Drop a message in #help or mention @moderators
```

### Role Assignment

| Role | How to Get | Permissions |
|------|------------|-------------|
| **New Member** | Auto on join | Limited channels |
| **Member** | Verify or time-based | Full access |
| **Contributor** | PR merged, active helper | Badge, special channel |
| **Moderator** | Invited | Moderation powers |
| **Admin** | Core team | Full access |

---

## Engagement Programs

### Discussion Prompts

Schedule regular engagement:

| Day | Prompt Type | Example |
|-----|-------------|---------|
| Monday | This week's goals | "What are you working on this week?" |
| Wednesday | Technical question | "Controversial: Tabs or spaces?" |
| Friday | Show & Tell | "Share what you shipped this week" |

### Recognition Programs

| Program | Description | Frequency |
|---------|-------------|-----------|
| **Contributor of the Month** | Recognize top helpers | Monthly |
| **First PR Celebration** | Welcome new contributors | As happens |
| **Milestone Badges** | 10/50/100 messages | Automatic |
| **Expert Roles** | Domain expertise recognition | Quarterly |

### Event Ideas

| Event Type | Format | Effort |
|------------|--------|--------|
| **Office Hours** | Live Q&A with team | Low |
| **Show & Tell** | Members demo projects | Low |
| **Workshops** | Teaching sessions | Medium |
| **Hackathons** | Build challenges | High |
| **Game Night** | Non-tech fun | Low |
| **AMA Sessions** | Guest experts | Medium |

### Engagement Metrics

| Metric | What It Tells You |
|--------|------------------|
| **DAU/MAU** | Daily vs monthly active users |
| **Messages per user** | Individual engagement depth |
| **Questions answered** | Community self-sufficiency |
| **New member retention** | Onboarding effectiveness |
| **Event attendance** | Program resonance |

---

## Handling Toxicity

### Code of Conduct Essentials

```markdown
# Code of Conduct

## Our Standards

**Do:**
- Be respectful and inclusive
- Help others learn (no "RTFM")
- Assume good intentions
- Give constructive feedback
- Report problems, don't engage

**Don't:**
- Personal attacks or harassment
- Discrimination of any kind
- Spam or self-promotion
- NSFW content
- Doxxing or privacy violations
- Bad faith arguments

## Enforcement

1. **Warning** — First offense, good faith
2. **Temp mute** — Repeated issues
3. **Temp ban** — Serious violations
4. **Permanent ban** — Egregious or repeated

## Reporting

DM any @moderator or use the report feature.
All reports are confidential.
```

### Moderation Playbook

| Situation | Response |
|-----------|----------|
| **Heated debate** | "Let's keep this constructive. Both perspectives have merit." |
| **Help vampire** | "Here's a guide on asking good questions: [link]" |
| **Self-promotion spam** | Delete, warn, or ban depending on frequency |
| **Off-topic drift** | "Great discussion! Let's move this to #off-topic" |
| **Harassment** | Immediate mute, investigate, likely ban |
| **Bad faith troll** | Don't engage publicly, ban quietly |

### De-escalation Techniques

1. **Acknowledge feelings** — "I can see this is frustrating"
2. **Move to DM** — "Let's continue this privately"
3. **Take a break** — "Let's pause and revisit tomorrow"
4. **Clarify intent** — "I think there might be a misunderstanding"
5. **Set boundaries** — "We're here to help, but not to be yelled at"

### Moderator Self-Care

| Risk | Mitigation |
|------|------------|
| Burnout | Rotate moderator duties |
| Taking it personally | Remember: it's not about you |
| Imposter syndrome | Regular team check-ins |
| Isolation | Moderator private channel |

---

## Community-Led Growth

### Word-of-Mouth Tactics

| Tactic | How |
|--------|-----|
| **Referral program** | Rewards for invites that stick |
| **Share-worthy content** | Exclusive insights, early access |
| **Member spotlights** | Feature members → they share |
| **Success stories** | "I got a job through this community" |

### User-Generated Content

| Content Type | How to Encourage |
|--------------|------------------|
| **Tutorials** | "Share your setup in #show-what-you-built" |
| **Q&A threads** | Reward helpful answers |
| **Project showcases** | Monthly demo events |
| **Testimonials** | Ask happy members |

### Community Champions

Identify and empower super-users:

| Champion Type | Role |
|---------------|------|
| **Greeters** | Welcome new members |
| **Helpers** | Answer support questions |
| **Content creators** | Tutorials, videos, guides |
| **Event organizers** | Run community events |
| **Connectors** | Introduce people to each other |

---

## Community Metrics

### Health Dashboard

| Metric | Healthy | Warning | Action Needed |
|--------|---------|---------|---------------|
| **Response time (support)** | <24h | 24-72h | >72h |
| **Unanswered questions** | <10% | 10-25% | >25% |
| **New member 7-day retention** | >40% | 20-40% | <20% |
| **Monthly active ratio** | >20% | 10-20% | <10% |
| **Moderator messages ratio** | <30% | 30-50% | >50% |

### Growth Metrics

| Metric | How to Track |
|--------|-------------|
| **Total members** | Platform analytics |
| **Join rate** | New members per week |
| **Churn rate** | Leaves per month |
| **Engagement depth** | Messages per active user |
| **Support success** | % questions resolved |

---

## Automation

### Useful Bots (Discord)

| Bot | Purpose |
|-----|---------|
| **MEE6 / Carl-bot** | Moderation, welcome messages, roles |
| **Statbot** | Analytics and metrics |
| **Ticket Tool** | Support ticket system |
| **GitHub Bot** | Repo activity notifications |
| **YAGPDB** | Advanced moderation, custom commands |

### Automation Ideas

| Automation | Benefit |
|------------|---------|
| Welcome DM | Consistent onboarding |
| Auto-role on join | Immediate access |
| Inactive member ping | Re-engagement |
| Support ticket creation | Organized help |
| GitHub notifications | Keep community informed |
| Scheduled posts | Regular engagement |

---

## Tools

| Tool | Use Case |
|------|----------|
| **[Octolens](https://octolens.com)** | Monitor community mentions across GitHub, Twitter, Reddit. Find where your community members talk about you. Track sentiment. Discover community content to amplify. |
| **Commsor** | Community operations platform |
| **Notion** | Community wiki and resources |
| **Luma** | Event management |
| **StreamYard/Restream** | Live event streaming |

---

## Related Skills

- `developer-audience-context` — Know your community members
- `open-source-marketing` — OSS community building
- `developer-advocacy` — Personal brand in community
- `developer-newsletter` — Community digest content