Re:Ask HN: Which open source needs contributors badly? I am ...
by eb0la on Wednesday February 27, 2013 @12:33PM
(#5293585)
All opensource projects need good documentation. That's not a small task ;-) but it's needed to get adoption.
Pick something interesting but hard to start/learn/understand and WRITE. This will sharpen your communication skills, which is crucial when explaining stuff to non-technical people (like your manager).
The installer / upgrade part of any project is also equally important; but it's better covered because it's part of the build process (the only exceptions is that you're selling enterprise software to a multi-million $$$ company: in that case your software must be as hard to install as posible in order to justify selling professional services).
Re:Ask HN: Which open source needs contributors badly? I am ...
by mgallivan on Wednesday February 27, 2013 @04:18PM
(#5294998)
I tried to sign up (because it's a fantastic idea) but I got:
"We're sorry, but something went wrong."
when I tried to authorize the application in GitHub. If this is your project I'd love to try it out if there's another way for me to sign up (or another date I can try).
Re:Ask HN: Which open source needs contributors badly? I am ...
by lutusp on Wednesday February 27, 2013 @11:44AM
(#5293246)
> ... Which opensource needs contributors badly?
All of them. You might be better off choosing an open-source project based on your interests and background rather than looking for a project that's particularly desperate.
Re:Ask HN: Which open source needs contributors badly? I am ...
by gopalv on Wednesday February 27, 2013 @12:12PM
(#5293431)
Well, then go on - list your interests (or skills).
And please don't pick a project that's desperate for people -
It's a classic case of the mythical man month.
Most of the time the core folks will find bringing up a new member up-to speed as a distraction, particularly when there's no commitment from either side to keep working on it (compared something like google summer of code).
PS: if all else fails, pick up a new programming language & write examples/cookbook-recipes for it
Re:Ask HN: Which open source needs contributors badly? I am ...
by sanspace on Wednesday February 27, 2013 @12:18PM
(#5293473)
I am a C developer and I work personally on PHP and have written some utility scripts using python. I don't stick to a language. I am a quick learner and I am flexible.
I would like to start with a small tasks / modules as of now until I get a hold on things.
Pick something interesting but hard to start/learn/understand and WRITE. This will sharpen your communication skills, which is crucial when explaining stuff to non-technical people (like your manager).
The installer / upgrade part of any project is also equally important; but it's better covered because it's part of the build process (the only exceptions is that you're selling enterprise software to a multi-million $$$ company: in that case your software must be as hard to install as posible in order to justify selling professional services).
This tool here helps you to stay on course by sending you emails regularly:
http://www.codetriage.com
"We're sorry, but something went wrong."
when I tried to authorize the application in GitHub. If this is your project I'd love to try it out if there's another way for me to sign up (or another date I can try).
HN post: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5219170
All of them. You might be better off choosing an open-source project based on your interests and background rather than looking for a project that's particularly desperate.
And please don't pick a project that's desperate for people - It's a classic case of the mythical man month.
Most of the time the core folks will find bringing up a new member up-to speed as a distraction, particularly when there's no commitment from either side to keep working on it (compared something like google summer of code).
PS: if all else fails, pick up a new programming language & write examples/cookbook-recipes for it
Take a look here.
I would like to start with a small tasks / modules as of now until I get a hold on things.
http://wp.tutsplus.com/articles/general/learning-how-to-cont...
http://codex.wordpress.org/Contributing_to_WordPress