Getting dev-helpers and creating an active system to get more people involved in TripSit's development/and or other volunteer positions.

[theimperious1]

XP Rewards for Helper Contributions

We could offer XP rewards for completing certain tasks. For example, the mod appeals web page completion could award enough XP to go from level 50 to 55 in that one issue alone.

Issues like this are very rare, and considering how much we need it done, it's not really unfair to others because whoever completes this has contributed substantially to TripSit. HR-Helpers can contribute more frequently in other ways to balance out these one-off super-awards. We could also offer "X-Helper of the Month" roles and free supporter status for those who assist in TripSit's development.

Implementation Details

MoonBear proposed a system to link Discord accounts with GitHub via Keycloak, allowing us to track contributions and award XP more seamlessly. The implementation would involve:

• Fixing GitHub authentication within Keycloak.

• Tagging each GitHub issue with a difficulty level for a base bounty and a "bounty: [amount]" tag for specific ones.

• Setting up a GitHub action to send data to a new endpoint in the TripBot API, structured like:

  {
    "github username": "string",
    "bounty": integer
  }

• TripBot would then look up the Discord user via Keycloak and award the XP automatically.

Most of the infrastructure already exists (GitHub actions, tags, auth, API, XP awarding), so this would mainly be a matter of connecting the pieces. It would still be a decent amount of work but could significantly streamline the process.

Additional Reward Structures:

• Guaranteed "Dev-Helper of the Month" Rewards: For major tasks like the ban appeals page, we could offer a guaranteed reward that puts the contributor above others (except core team members) for a month, alongside special recognition.
• Leaderboard Tracking: We could track "Total Bounty XP Claimed" and display it as a permanent leaderboard to encourage ongoing contributions and provide more recognition/bragging rights.

Fairness Considerations

In the name of fairness, we could implement similar rewards for HR Helpers as well. The main reason for prioritizing dev-side incentives is the current shortage of developers, but HR contributions could also be recognized with special awards for exceptional sessions or particularly challenging situations.

Role updates would only happen on a monthly basis (could be automated as well) and as certain GitHub issue completions occur, which will be rare. Added admin strain (if not automated) shouldn't be too much, but the benefits could be substantial if it brings us more development support and potentially long-term contributors who could join the team officially.

Clarifications:

• The "X" in X-Helper just means either HR or Dev.
• Award-able issues would be created solely by team members to prevent abuse.
• Not every HR session or dev issue will receive a reward — only those deemed particularly valuable or challenging.

Feedback is welcome, especially regarding fairness, implementation, and potential challenges. Are there any other considerations we should include?