Open Source Notes

oss.txt

Contributing to Open Source
===========================

First Rule: You can find the time
- It doesn't take much
- Weekends are good
- Find what other time you're wasting
- Try something that's _not_ your day job

Second Rule: What to contribute to?
- Scratch an itch
- Help others
- Lend support
- Fame and Glory

It doesn't have to simply be code!
- Start a technical blog on Posterous
-- Use your real name, or a pseudonym.
-- No seriously, use your real name.
-- Just post error messages and how you fixed them
-- Example:
	bash: /usr/bin/rails: /usr/bin/ruby1.8: bad interpreter: No such file or directory
-- Then link to it from somewhere! Like Twitter.
-- Gets the Google Juices Flowing
-- Helps other programmers
- Write Documentation
-- This is often given as a good starting point
-- It isn't, except when it is.
-- Sorely needed
-- Maintainers will love you for it
- Help promote the project; blog/tweet/lightning talk, whatever
- Write good bug reports
- Write failing tests

How to contribute Code:
- As Rubyists, GitHub.
-- Fork, pull request
- Read the README
- Older projects: diff to a mailing list
- Ruby itself: diff to Redmine
- Contributor's agreements
-- GPL, not so much BSD.
- Write passing tests