Promo/Guidance/DosDonts

Below are lists of "Do"s and "Don't"s to reference when forming public communication pieces. These lists provide a place to gather our collected wisdom and customs around public communication.

KDE Software Compilation (SC)

The KDE SC is not a product which we promote as a single entity. It is a part of the release engineering process and marks the epochal events where KDE releases a large set of KDE software at once in a coordinated release event.

In fact, most articles discussing KDE software should not need to mention KDE SC at all but should instead focus on the workspaces, individual applications and application suites and/or the development platform. These represent the actual products which we strive to promote.

When used in an article, the phrase "KDE Software Compilation" should always be spelled out in full at least once in full. "KDE SC" is vague, insiders-jargon without that.

Consult the Branding Information for more details on how KDE SC fits into the bigger picture.

KDE e.V.

Do not use the phrase "the KDE e.V.", it is instead just "KDE e.V.". Example:

The developer sprint was sponsored by the KDE e.V.

should be:

The developer sprint was sponsored by KDE e.V.

When referring to the membership or other bodies, the article "the" may be used. Example:

The KDE e.V. Board of Directors met for three days in Berlin this week.

When it came time for a vote on the matter, the KDE e.V. membership gathered to make their collective voice heard.

Always provide a link to ev.kde.org when mentioning KDE e.V.

Social Media

KDE has a wide range of social media accounts that need regular and frequent updates. Our policy is to always discuss social media posts beforehand with other members of the Promo group in the Promo IRC channel, on the Telegram group, or on the Promo mailing list, or on all three. We never post off-the-cuff messages.

To ensure your post is appropriate for our posting on KDE's social media accounts, read and apply the following guidelines to your drafts:

Upholding our Values

1. First and foremost: Posts must be in line with our vision, mission, Code of Conduct, and goals. Read about all of them first before even considering posting.
2. Don't encourage people to do things that are against our values.
3. Cooperate with fellow organizations and support ideas that align with our values. (patrons, partners, advisory board, affiliates). Celebrate their successes.
4. Think about whether a comment is worth replying to. Avoid obvious trolls. Respond to the content, not the tone.
5. Do not bash people or their projects. Other FLOSS projects are not competitors.
6. Own mistakes and put them into context.

Access Policy

The KDE promo account holders have responsibility for posting prompt, accurate, helpful and relevant content to KDE Dot News and various social media platforms. It's a self-regulating group which welcomes KDE community members. As with other restricted accounts such as Git or web or release team, access is controlled to ensure quality. Here's how we let people in:

1. You must be familiar and able to communicate with the many teams in KDE
2. You must want to play an active part in promoting KDE and its software
3. You have a track record of 6 months contributing to KDE promo. Come and hang out in our channel and help craft our stories. This means:
   1. You must attend Promo meetings (about 1 hour a month)
   2. You must take on and resolve to completion at least 1 promo task every 6 months
4. You must have shown an ability to follow good practice and follow all the rules listed on this page
5. You must have shown an ability to create high quality writing or review others work to a high standard
6. You must scrupulously follow and have followed in the past KDE's CoC
7. Must not disparage, offend, intend to offend, or badmouth any group, company, organisation, or individual within or without KDE from KDE's official accounts
8. If you have had access to KDE's social media accounts before, you must have a clean record with regard to the above to be eligible
9. You must be able to work effectively with the rest of the promo team. This includes ALWAYS submitting your posts for revision and taking on board suggestions before posting
10. The list of users with access will be reviewed every 6 months to ensure holders are still active
11. If you post inappropriate content* your access will be removed immediately. No second chances. No appeals.
12. This is the list of current users with access

Sysadmin has admin access to all accounts to ensure access can continue even when people move on.

* Inappropriate content is:

• Off topic
• Derogatory or discriminatory to a group
• Passive aggressive
• Insulting (do not confuse with critical) towards a company, organisation or person
• Seeking personal gain
• etc.

Fostering Contributions

1. Redirect support requests to forums, bug reports to bugzilla.
2. Wherever appropriate, encourage people to join the community and contribute. Show how people are contributing and make people know they can contribute easily.

Posting with Style

1. For better impact, always include a colorful, busy image that's up to date.
2. Always try to include a Call to Action, even if it is just "Click here to read more...".
3. Try not to use "if" and "please" in a Call to Action.
   
   Don't say:
   "If you would like to help us, please donate here."
   
   Do say:
   "You can help us by donating here."
    
   
4. Use the generic "you"/"we" and avoid passives.
   
   Don't say:
   "The software is installed by using a Flatpak."
   
   Do say:
   "You use Flatpak to install the software."
   
   Or simply:
   "Use Flatpak to install the software."
    
   
5. Personalise, remind readers there are humans behind each project.
6. Name the people and projects you're talking about and link to them.
   
   Don't say:
   "There is a new version of Krita out."
   
   Do say:
   "The developers working on the @Krita_Painting application have just released a new version."
    
   
7. "Exclamation marks draw attention to themselves" (in detriment of the message). Use them sparingly. If you think ending a tweet with a full stop is curt (.), don't sweat it -- most should end with a link anyway.
8. Other things you should use sparingly: the word "awesome" and emojis.
9. Make it about the reader:
   
   Don't say:
   "Kdenlive is awesome!!!!!!"
   
   Do say:
   "Make your best movies with Kdenlive."
    
   
10. Include the handle's of the projects you are talking about:
    
    Don't say:
    "Krita releases version 4.1"
    
    Do say:
    "Developers at @Krita_Painting have released version 4.1"
     
    
11. Be explicit -- say what is new in the release or what the users should expect. Don't assume the reader knows about what went into the new version of the software or expect them to click the link and read through the full release announcements (most won't). You have at least 280 characters. Use them to explain why you are telling them this.
12. Don't expect readers to know what you are talking about: when you mention an application in a post, describe it! And it is always better to say what it does and not only what it is:
    
    Don't say:
    "There is a new version of Kdenlive out."
    
    And don't say:
    "There is a new version of Kdenlive, KDE's NLE."
    
    Do say:
    "Say hello to a new version of KDE's video-editing software, Kdenlive."