Open-Source/Getting Involved

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See also: Open-Source | Free Software | Collaboration

Contents

Getting Involved With A Software Project

On Collaboration

First and foremost, one thing needs to be made clear. Even though you are a consumer of the software, and you may find great value in adding improvements, you must understand that such software is a collaborative effort. This means that there are many opinions and many voices. This also means that even your best ideas may just not be compatible with those of others.

Why Contribute To A Software Project

Simply put, one would contribute one’s own efforts to a project to collaboratively improve it. Any number of driving forces may push onesself to be desirous of contribution:

  • Having an idea for a feature
  • Finding a typo
  • Finding a bug

How To Contribute To A Software Project

If one has a specific piece of software in mind, the first thing which must be done is to discover more about the project:

  • Where is the project hosted?
  • Does the project have standard practices for newcomers to follow?
  • Who leads the software project?
  • How do the project participants communicate?

Getting Started

Before one is qualified of participating with a software project, one must learn what makes that project tick. One must also be prepared to involve onesself with the very latest bleeding-edge release of the software. Apprehension must be swept aside.

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