I agree with you @madasan on the retention part of the program. Once we get the buddy program off the ground, we need to make sure we have some type of retention program in place. I hate to see people start dropping of the face of the earth, because we didn’t have some type of retention program in place. Thats my take of things, but I like everyone’s ideas including @vesper and @CAKCy. You guys rock!
Hello Madalina,
Question: Where/how these people contact you/us? Are these contacts on a private basis? Are those interested redirected to the SUMO fora?
With all due respect I disagree with your statement that the goal of the Buddy Program is contributor retention. If this is actually the goal as defined by SUMO Management then I’m in the wrong program! 
The problem of retaining contributors cannot be limited to, and cannot be solved by the Buddy Program (BP) alone. BP has a role to play (to make the entry of a new contributor easier) but that is only the first step. I think that the current “rewards” and “recognition” system within SUMO has to be re-evaluated and re-built from scratch. It is a different discussion altogether but it’s one closely related to the evolution of a “Newbie” to a “fully grown contributor” to a “Buddy” and the longer we postpone it the longer SUMO will suffer unnecessary losses of contributors. One cannot expect the Buddy Program to be effective as a stand alone program loosely connected with the rest of SUMO reality.
Understood! 
What I can share is the experience I gained running the AoA (much smaller) version of the Buddy Program. This, of course, is based on my own observations and there is no statistical data recorded. 
This experience may have an answer to some questions like:
- What are the reasons that drive a person to joining SUMO (or any other help community)?
- What do new contributors feel they have to offer when they join SUMO?
- What do new contributors expect to gain when they join SUMO?
- How is involvement with SUMO going to affect new contributors personally (short term/long term)
- What are the current standards within SUMO (as those are demonstrated by current/older contributors)
- How is the contribution of a new contributor evaluated and what are the rewards if any?
- How is a new contributor treated by the current contributors/paid personnel?
etc.
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This is the “whole SUMO” approach (and IMHO the best approach towards raising retention and quality):
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CAKCy, awesome…
Hey Jay!
Thank you for your kindness! I would appreciate your giving it some thought when you have the time, and hitting me hard on the head with any problems you may see. Please don’t hesitate to be as critical as possible! For SUMO’s sake! 
(Hopefully we’ll attract some more people in the discussion so we have something before the next meeting. I’m afraid that, meetings are too short for any real results.)
@CAKCy, I really like the flow chat concept. So basically, the new contributor would have interaction first with the buddy, than, they would start the training session in the their contributor area?
Hey Robert!
Yep! That’s the general idea. The introduction and training by the Buddy will be “non-specific” but informative enough for the new contributor to choose where he/she wants to start contributing. The CA will then take over and train the new contributor for their specific area. This way we ensure that the “output” quality of new contributors is as high as possible.
Thanks @CAKCy! Excellent work on the the new concept. I think the initial training will help the contributor.
ORGANIZATIONAL NOTE: Madalina is going to be the steward for this topic, because we need some balance in nature
Yes, Madalina will only take care of this thread - but all the matching is done by Buddies on their own
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Cool, Thats great
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Everything here looks AWESOME!
Just one quick thing, are ALL buddies required to PM the newcomer after picking them up in the “New Contributors” forum?
I believe we should stand by Mozilla’s mission of keeping things open.
Hi Andrew!
The method to contact the newcomer should be up to the buddy to decide. The reasons I suggested a PM were:
- It enables me to give to the newcomer contact information of mine that I wouldn’t post in a public forum (e.g. my e-mail address)
- The newcomer may feel uncomfortable to show “ignorance” in a public forum.
- It helps to build a “trust bond” between the buddy and the newcomer.
I don’t disagree with keeping things open but sometimes too much openness may have undesirable results.
+1 to what CAKCy said.
Any method of communication between Buddies and New Contributors makes sense, as long as it works for both sides of the conversation. Picking one that is easy to access for the New Contributor is definitely a friendly gesture, right from the start of your relationship.