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Part IV: Closing Out Thoughtfully

Clear and thoughtful communication with your volunteer community is a key part of the Zooniverse experience. When a project reaches a natural stopping point, whether all subjects have been classified or there will be an extended pause (~9 months or more) before the next dataset is uploaded, it’s important to update your project to reflect that status and share next steps with participants.

When should your project move to “Finished”?

Projects have three states: active, paused, and finished. Projects will automatically move between Active and Paused depending whether there are subjects available to be classified. Projects will not automatically move to Finished, however, so this is something you need to request.

We recommend moving your project to Finished when:

  • All subjects have been fully classified and no additional data will be added, or
  • You anticipate an extended pause in activity (~9 months or more) before new data may be available

In these cases, moving your project to Finished helps set clear expectations for your volunteers and creates an opportunity to share the impact of their contributions.

Why this matters

Marking a project as Finished is more than a status change, it’s an important moment to:

  • Close the loop with your volunteers by letting them know the classification effort is complete (for now)
  • Share how their participation contributes to research and discovery
  • Recognize and thank participants for their time and effort
  • Build trust and transparency within the Zooniverse community

These practices help sustain long-term engagement across Zooniverse and strengthen the connection between researchers and the public.

What should you do?

When your project reaches this stage, we recommend the following steps:

  • Maintain Public Visibility: Keep your project set to 'public' (within your zooniverse.org/lab/XXXX/visibility page; replace XXXX with your project number to access this URL).
  • Keep a Workflow Active: In zooniverse.org/lab/XXXX/workflows, keep at least one workflow set to Active. This workflow should be fully complete (not a practice workflow with an infinite retirement limit). It will appear on your project page as 100% complete with a small number of subjects remaining, providing a public record of the project’s tasks for volunteers and other researchers.
  • Update your About/Results Page: Share how the data has been or will be used, any results or publications, and what comes next. If analysis is ongoing, include a timeline for future updates, and be sure to follow through.
  • Post a Message in Talk: Thank your volunteers and let them know the project is complete (or entering a long-term pause). Include a link to your Results page and highlight key outcomes or milestones.
  • Add a Project Announcement: Use your project’s announcement banner to clearly indicate that classifications are complete and direct volunteers to your Talk post for more information. If you’re willing, great to include the following line (to build participant awareness of other Zooniverse opportunities available): "To browse other active projects that still need your classifications, check out [zooniverse.org/projects](https://www.zooniverse.org/projects)"
  • Send a Newsletter Update: Email contact@zooniverse.org to send an e-newsletter update to your volunteer community; 100% OK to reuse text from your Talk post, About/Results page, etc. You can find the instructions for writing a project newsletter here.
  • Notify the Zooniverse Team: Email contact@zooniverse.org to let us know your project is ready to be moved to the Finished category. (This is an administrative step that our team will complete for you.)

What if you plan to upload new data in the future?

Projects in the Finished category remain publicly accessible (they appear in the “Finished” tab at zooniverse.org/projects). When you’re ready to upload new data, simply email us at contact@zooniverse.org. We’ll move your project back to the Active category, help you send a newsletter to re-engage your community, and answer any questions you may have at that time.

Zooniverse Support

The Zooniverse team keeps an eye on projects in the Paused category and will reach out. We encourage project teams to take a proactive role in making this transition and communicating with their participants.

If you have questions or would like support at any stage, please get in touch.