Sourced from: Logistics and Marketing/Getting people.md, Logistics and Marketing/Ingest.md

Friction Reduction¶

Every unnecessary step between "interested person" and "first observation submitted" costs us contributors. This document collects all strategies for reducing friction at onboarding, during regular use, and at re-engagement after inactivity.

The single most important retention statistic: people who submit at least one observation have 82% retention vs 40% for those who don't. Everything here is in service of getting that first submission.

Part 1: Onboarding Friction¶

The 5-Minute Test¶

If someone cannot go from "interested" to "first observation submitted in concept" in 5 minutes, they are lost. The onboarding flow must be:

STEP 1: Sign Up (30 seconds)
- Name, email, location
- Basic equipment info — dropdown menus, not free text
- API key generated immediately

STEP 2: Download & Install (2 minutes)
- One-click installer (Windows, Mac, Linux)
- Auto-detect ASCOM/INDI setup if possible
- Test connection to server

STEP 3: First Target (2 minutes)
- Scheduler shows tonight's priority target
- Finder chart generated automatically
- Exposure settings recommended based on registered equipment

STEP 4: Submit First Observation (whenever skies clear)
- Drag-and-drop FITS files
- Automated quality check with instant result
- Confirmation: "Observation received!"

STEP 5: Immediate Feedback
- Email: "Welcome! Your first observation is being processed"
- Link to view their data on the dashboard
- Next suggested target

Hardware Minimum Bar¶

Specify this clearly so people can self-qualify before signing up:

Go-To mount (pointing model required)
CCD or CMOS camera
Ability to run the client software
GPS-synced timing (NTP is sufficient for most science cases; GPS disciplined oscillator for sub-millisecond timing)
Telescope 8"+ aperture (for most science cases — smaller scopes useful for wide-field occultation timing)

Tiered Participation¶

Not everyone needs to contribute equally. A 1-metre class scope with a spectrograph, a 20 cm refractor with a basic CCD, and a DSLR with a telephoto lens all have value in different contexts. The system should route users to appropriate campaigns based on their equipment, not gate them out entirely.

Part 2: Engagement and Retention Strategies¶

These are the ten core friction-reduction and retention strategies:

1. Plate-Solve Pipeline (Built-In Astrometry)¶

The client software handles plate solving automatically. Users do not need to know what WCS is. The pipeline: capture → auto-plate-solve → WCS-embedded FITS submitted to server. This removes a major technical barrier for beginners.

2. Co-Authorship¶

Every contributor whose observations appear in a publication is named. Not just acknowledged in a footnote — listed as a co-author. This is the single highest-value retention mechanism, modelled on ExoClock (160+ named amateur co-authors in their 2022 MNRAS paper).

Clear criteria for authorship vs acknowledgement must be defined early and applied consistently.

3. Passive Mode¶

A "passive" observation mode for users who don't want to actively choose targets. The client runs in the background, asks the scheduler what to observe, and submits automatically. The user wakes up to "Your telescope observed 3 targets last night" without having done anything manually.

This removes the biggest barrier for "equipment-rich, time-poor" contributors.

4. Push Alerts¶

For time-critical events (GRB follow-up, occultation in 20 minutes), the server pushes a notification to the client and optionally to the user's phone. Users who want to be on the alert response team opt in to these notifications.

This turns waiting-for-alerts from a passive activity into something that feels like being on call for a science mission.

5. Pi Kit (Hardware Starter Kit)¶

A low-cost Raspberry Pi-based automation kit that plugs into any Go-To mount via INDI. Pre-configured, pre-tested. Ships to new contributors at cost or subsidised. Removes the software configuration barrier entirely for non-technical users.

This is the PANOPTES model applied at lower cost — a physical object creates ownership and commitment that software alone does not.

6. Adopt-a-Star¶

A programme where contributors "adopt" a specific long-term monitoring target — their telescope is the primary observatory for that object. They own the light curve. This creates personal investment beyond transactional data submission.

Good for long-period variable stars, recurrent novae, monitoring programmes with multi-year timescales.

7. Seasonal Campaigns¶

Structured 4–8 week campaigns targeting a specific science goal (e.g., "Orion occultation season", "TESS follow-up window for this exoplanet system"). Campaigns have a clear start, defined goal, progress bar, and end-of-campaign report naming all contributors.

Campaigns create urgency and a sense of shared mission. They are easier to recruit for than an always-on open programme.

8. Morning Digest¶

A daily email (opt-in) sent each morning summarising: what the network observed last night, whether the user's site contributed, highlights from recent data (light curves, discoveries). Short — three paragraphs maximum. Keeps contributors engaged on cloudy nights when they cannot observe.

9. Power-User Subsidy¶

Contributors who have submitted above a threshold number of quality observations get access to: early data releases, invitations to co-author proposals, priority support, and potentially subsidised hardware upgrades. Rewards the most committed contributors and creates an aspirational tier for newer members.

10. Live World Map¶

A public-facing (no login required) map showing: current active nodes, which targets are being observed right now, and handover chains in progress. This is a marketing tool as much as a retention tool — it makes the network visible and compelling to potential new contributors who stumble across it.

Part 3: First-Week Communication Cadence¶

Day	Action	Method
0	Welcome email with quick-start guide	Automated
1	"Any issues with setup?" check-in	Automated
3	"Have you had clear skies? Here's tonight's target"	Automated
7	Week 1 network summary digest	Automated
14	Personal outreach if no observation submitted yet	Manual email

Part 4: Feedback Loop (Showing Contribution Matters)¶

Immediate¶

"Observation received!" with quality score and brief explanation
Position in that night's network coverage map

Weekly¶

"Your observation of X contributed to the light curve" (with the actual plot)
Network statistics: how many targets, how many sites active

Monthly¶

Network highlights newsletter
"Your total contribution this month: N observations"
Preview of upcoming campaigns and events

Annual / On Paper Publication¶

"Your name is on this paper" — direct email with link
Annual report with all contributor acknowledgements
Data summary specific to each participant's contributions

Part 5: Why People Leave (And How to Prevent It)¶

Reason	% of Dropouts	Prevention
Technical frustration	25%	Better documentation; faster support response (<48 hrs)
No feedback on data submitted	30%	Automated acknowledgement immediately on submission
Felt isolated	20%	Discord community; monthly results webinars
Life changes	15%	Low-barrier re-entry; re-engagement emails after inactivity
Lost interest	10%	Regular highlights; new campaigns; visible impact

Part 6: Discord Community Structure¶

#announcements   — Official updates only
#general         — Chat, introductions
#observing-tonight — Real-time coordination during campaigns
#tech-support    — Equipment and software help
#results         — Share light curves, discoveries
#off-topic       — Non-astronomy chat
#voice-channel   — Virtual observing sessions

Regular events: - Weekly: Virtual observing coordination (weather permitting) - Monthly: Results webinar — 30 min, what the network learned this month - Quarterly: Office hours with professional collaborators - Annual: Virtual or hybrid conference / contributor meetup