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
# 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
- Acknowledge feelings — "I can see this is frustrating"
- Move to DM — "Let's continue this privately"
- Take a break — "Let's pause and revisit tomorrow"
- Clarify intent — "I think there might be a misunderstanding"
- 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 | 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 membersopen-source-marketing — OSS community buildingdeveloper-advocacy — Personal brand in communitydeveloper-newsletter — Community digest content
