A Mahalo Barnraising is a competition where the users who complete the most tasks on a specific topic or theme win a prize. Tasks that are part of the Barnraising are clearly labeled as such. A Mahalo Barnraising can cover a specific topic, such as gadgets, or a theme, such as technology.

A Barnraising is a great way to encourage participation in Mahalo Tasks. It is also a good way to create a big group of pages on a particular topic, help users add to their page management roster, and gives us an opportunity to reward Mahalo users for their contributions (in the form of prizes given out for the most prolific Barnraising contributors). The competition usually continues until all the Barnraising tasks have been completed and QC'd.

The first step to organizing a Mahalo Barnraising is to find a group of page titles to put into tasks.

1. During a Barnraising, tasks usually focus on a specific theme.
2. You can include tasks on one topic, such as recipes, or a theme, such as food.
3. It is helpful to create separate lists for each Barnraising topic you are gathering page titles for.
4. It is easiest to create lists of the exact page titles you plan on putting into the system, so you can copy and paste the list into the Barnraising task you will be creating.
5. Make sure to capitalize page titles.
   
   

PAGE TEMPLATES:

Keep in mind that when you post a task, you will be asked to select a page template for the task. The page template you choose will determine which sections users are required to complete. Users will see the same instructions as the instructions displayed on the page template. Take a look at the page templates and divide your topics into sections depending on which page template you will use. Sometimes it may be necessary or helpful to build new page templates.

HOW TO TASKS:

"How To's" should be in separate Barnraisings from regular tasks, although it is acceptable to stage thematically linked Barnraisings for "How To's" and regular tasks.

After you have a list of topics, the next step is to write task descriptions for the Barnraising. You might also need to complete new page templates. Sometimes, it will work best to use one task description for the entire Barnraising. Or, it might make sense to divide your list of tasks up, and create multiple descriptions for your Barnraising.

When you post a task, the task tool will automatically pull in the required text sections and Fast Facts from the page template you choose. You do not need to include this in your task description.

Some things that are useful to include on a task description are:

1. The fact that it's part of the Barnraising, what a Barnraising is and an inlink to the announcement of the Barnraising
2. It is advisable to indicate that your tasks are part of a Barnraising by putting this in the title (eg: Barnraising #10: Cookies)
3. Basic information on how to complete the task
4. Information on how to add Related Mahalo Pages and inlinks
5. Information on what to include in the other sections of the task
   
   

HOW TO TASKS:

If your "How To" Barnraising is linked with a regular Barnraising, you should indicate this on both tasks. Only members of the "How To" team will be able to work on "How To" Barnraisings.

Now it's time to announce the Barnraising by posting a thread on Answers. Keep in mind that the announcement should answer questions that new users who have not participated in Barnraisings might have as well as general information on the Barnraising.

Good information to include:

1. The approximate number of tasks that will be included
2. The time deadline for the tasks
3. The theme and some of the topics that will be covered
4. The prizes
5. A link to our user guide How Mahalo Tasks Works
6. If the Barnraising is thematically linked to a "How To" Barnraising (or vice versa), indicate this as well.
   
   

After announcing the Barnraising, it's time to post the tasks. Using the Mass Tasks Tool will allow you to post a large number of tasks at the same time. It is a god idea to limit the number of tasks you post at once, so that users can easily browse through different Barnraising topics. Mahalo imposes the following quotas on VM's, for posting Barnraising tasks:

QUOTAS

For REGULAR tasks, the quotas are:

1. Only post 20—30 Barnraising tasks at a time. Add more tasks as they get claimed, but try not to have over 30 Barnraising tasks in the system at any given time.
2. Only stage ONE regular Barnraising task at a time.
3. In addition to Barnraising tasks, you can add an additional 10 non-Barnraising tasks at a time.
   
   

For HOW TO tasks, the quotas are:

1. Only post 20—30 "How To" Barnraising tasks at a time. Add more tasks as they get claimed, but try not to have over 30 Barnraising tasks in the system at any given time.
2. Only stage ONE "How To" Barnraising task at a time.
3. In addition to "How To" Barnraising tasks, you can add an additional 10 non-Barnraising "How To" tasks at a time.
   
   

As you can see, the quotas are exactly the same for both regular and "How To" tasks. VM's are allowed to stage both regular and "How To" barnraisings concurrently. And, the quotas for regular tasks won't affect the quotas for "How To" tasks.

Adding Topic Tasks

- To add a task, click on Create a Task on Mahalo Tasks

- Type "Create a page for page title" into the Task headline

- Add details to your task description when necessary

- Check "Assign task to a specific user" and enter the username when applicable. If you are creating mass tasks, you don't need to specify a user.

- Choose the "Type of Task." If it's for a regular task, select "Page." If it's for a "How To" task, select "How To"

- Enter the page title in the SeRP box (without double brackets). This determines the name of the page.

- Choose the appropriate page category. The page categories are based on the page templates. The description on the page templates are the same that those the users will see as they complete the tasks. The page template also determines the section titles and which link sections that appear on the final page.

- Enter a tip for the task, usually between M$2 to M$3 for regular tasks, and between M$5 and M$10 for "How To" tasks

- Select the deadlines. "This task must be completed within...hours of when I publish the task" determines when the task disappears from the system. For regular tasks requested by users, enter a time deadine, usually 72 hours. For "How To" tasks requested by "How To" team members, select "no limit." For tasks for a Barnraising, also enter "no limit" so the task will stay in Mahalo Tasks until someone completes it.

"After a worker claims the task, give...hours to complete the task" determines when a user's claim on a task expires and the task returns to Open Tasks.

- Check the box to send the task to Quality Control. All tasks are currently sent to Quality Control unless there is a specific reason you want to keep an eye on a task/user. Tasks not sent to Quality Control appear in Tasks Under Review and can only be reviewed by Mahalo staff and Vertical Managers.

- Select 4 hours as the time limit for Quality Controllers.

- Click "Submit Your Task"

- Verify that the task posted

- A task will not post if we already have a page with content (added text) on it. A task for a search-click page (a page that has been created with links but don't include any original content) will post

Mass-adding Topic Tasks

- The Mass Tasks tool allows you to post several tasks at the same time. While you can post several hundred tasks at the same time through Mass Tasks, please only post 20—30 Barnraising tasks at a time, and up to 10 non-Barnraising tasks at a time. This prevents the flooding of Tasks in Open Tasks and makes it easier for users to find what they're looking for.

- When posting Tasks through Mass Tasks, keep in mind that you will be asked for a page template, and all tasks posted at the same time should correspond to the same page template.

- To use the Mass Tasks tool, click on "Create Mass Tasks" on Tasks

- Type "Create a page for %s" into the Task headline

- Follow the steps above under "Adding Tasks" to assign tasks to a user, enter a task description, choosing the type of task and the page category.

- Enter several page titles in the SeRP box, with one page title on each line and without any double brackets

- Follow the above directions for adding Tasks for the rest of the steps

- Verify that the tasks posted. If the Mass Tasks tool detects that Mahalo already have pages on some of the page titles, these specific tasks will not post.

Editing Tasks

- To edit a task, click on edit. NOTE: Editing a task will automatically re-post it again and list the time posted as the time you edited the task. You only have the ability to change certain settings this way. To change other options you will need to delete the task and post it again.

After you have announced and launched the Barnraising, monitor the competition until the winners are announced. Some of the things to look out for are:

1. Make sure to post new tasks on a regular basis, but avoid posting too many tasks at the same time.
2. Keep an eye out for things that could be improved, such as a task description that is not clear enough or a page template that might need a more detailed description.
3. QC tasks and spot check the work of other QCers on a regular basis. Make an extra effort to QC tasks based on the time they have been waiting in the QC queue - prioritize to QC the tasks that have been waiting for review the longest.
4. Look out for plagiarism and users who don't follow directions or don't submit content that is relevant for the task. Keep an extra eye on users who take a lead in the competition. Contact users who might need extra guidance and offer them suggestions, feedback and advice.
5. Keep users informed on the current results, for example by posting Barnraising updates with a leaderboard of current results.

A Barnraising is over when all tasks posted have been completed and QCd and the pages have been created. Sometimes, however, it's possible to close a Barnraising even when some results are still pending (for example when some tasks are left in Claimed Tasks). If all of the winners have been determined and the pending tasks will not make a difference in the final results, you can close the Barnraising, announce the results and mention that the few tasks left will not impact the final results. Before you close a Barnraising, take a look at the final results sheet and doublecheck some of the results.