The idea

Choosing an idea

We want you to be creative! Any idea is worth trying, you never know which one will make a difference. Come up with something completely new or model your idea after something you've seen work before. Most of all, make sure it's an idea you believe in and that you'll have fun working on!
 

Searching for similar projects

Our community at SFx is large and is growing every day. It's possible someone else has come up with an idea like yours already. We encourage you to search for existing projects similar to your idea before creating your own project. You may wish to join an existing project instead, or you may be able to use other projects' experiences to improve your idea.

Getting feedback

We understand that you might not want to start a project until you're sure people think it's a good idea and will want to help out. If you'd like to get some feedback on your idea before creating a project feel free to post about your idea in the Community@SFX discussion forums.

Guidelines for acceptable projects  

When creating a project and planning activities we do ask that you keep a few things in mind:

• Make sure your project is related to marketing Firefox.
• Act responsibly, remember you're representing Mozilla.
• Don't defame or otherwise violate anyone else's rights.
• Make sure your project doesn't involve breaking any laws, such as using private property without permission.

If you have any doubts about your idea and whether it follows these guidelines please contact us and we'd be happy to discuss it with you.

Creating a project

You need to be logged in to your Spread Firefox account to create a new project. If you don't already have an account, you can create one by clicking the Create New Account link in the login box at the top of any page. For more detailed instructions see our Getting Started guide.

1. Hover your mouse over Create New Content in the login box at the top of any page
2. Click on Project from the list that appears
3. Fill out the form to create your project's home page
   • Title - The name of your project
   • Description - A short summary of your project. It will be shown in the project list and is a good chance to attract members. 
   • Mission statement - This is the content of your project's home page. Include any information you'd like people to know about your project. For example, you can describe what you'd like to accomplish and give users instructions on how to participate. You can also make your project more eye-catching by adding images and text styles.
   • Membership requests - This controls how new members join your project. You can allow anyone to join, or restrict membership to invite only.
   • File attachments - Add documents or files related to your project that you'd like to make available for members to download. Attachments are available as download links under the mission statement.
4. Click submit to create your project

Your project should be created right away and you should be taken to your project's home page. You should also receive an email confirming that your project has been created including a link to your project.

You can edit any of the information entered when creating the project by clicking on the View tab on the project's home page.

Attracting members

Inviting members

Once you've created your project you can send invitations to other Spread Firefox members and even to your friends who don't have an account yet.

1. Click on the invite friends link on the right side of your project's page
2. Invite up to 10 people at a time by listing their Spread Firefox username or their email address in the field provided. Separate them with commas, or use a new line for each.
3. You may include a message describing your project and why you think people should join. If you don't wish to include a message just leave the Personal message field blank.
4. Click send invitation. Your friends should receive their invitations via email shortly.

Advertising the project

If you want more people to join, not just your friends, there are several ways to share your project.
 

• Share your project on the Firefox page of a social networking site. 
  • Mozilla Firefox Facebook page
  • Firefox Users Facebook group
  • Mozilla Firefox Orkut Community
  • Mozilla Firefox Brazilian Orkut community

• Share your project on Spread Firefox
  • Community@SFX - Tell people about your project and why they'd be interested in joining by posting a new discussion topic
  • Featured projects - The SFX team tries to give every project some time in the featured projects area on the home page. If you haven't seen yours featured yet please contact us! 

Managing members

Once you've attracted new members to your project you may want to promote some of them to help run the project or you may need to otherwise control your project's membership.

1. Click on the number of subscribers in your project on the right side of the project's home page
2. Click on the list tab to manage your members
3. Click on the links beside the names of the members you'd like to manage
   • To remove a member click "Remove" beside their name
   • To make a member an admin click "Admin: Create"
   • To remove someone's admin privileges click "Admin: Remove"
   • If your project membership is moderated click "Approve" or "Deny" to manage membership requests

Creating content

We offer many different ways to communicate with your project members and get them involved.  Use the links on the right side of your project to create new content.
 

Documents

A document can be almost anything you want. It can be an announcement, a suggestion you want feedback on, or any other information you'd like to share with your project. Documents show up on the project page under the mission statement. Members of your group can leave comments on a document or create documents themselves.

Events

You can create events for members of your project to attend, or mark special dates for your project. Upcoming events will appear under the mission statement as well as in the Group calendar. Members can sign up to attend.

Forums and discussion topics

Members of your project can start discussions without having to create a document first by clicking Create Discussion topic on the right side of the project's page. A general forum for your project is created by default. If you'd like to organize discussion further you can create more forums.
 

Emailing members

Occasionally, you may wish to contact members of your project through email rather than waiting for the next time they check out the project. Please be conservative when choosing to use this feature. Encourage your project members to subscribe to notifications rather than using group email to announce every update.

To send an email to all members of your project click on the E-mail tab on your project's home page and fill out the form.

Getting support from Mozilla

Mozilla offers several programs that provide financial or material support for deserving community initiatives. Find more information about these programs and whether your project might qualify. The programs include:

• Community giving program
• Mozilla Foundation grants
• Event Sponsorship