Open Source Needs You

Talk given at Drupal Mountain Camp (Davos, Switzerland) about contributing to and maintaining open source projects.

Transcript

1. Making your voice
   heard:
   Open Source needs you
   

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2. Hi, I’m
   Laura.
   artist, web developer
   Travis Foundation
   ROSSConf
   Rails Girls Summer of Code
   @alicetragedy
   

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3. Open Source Software
   

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4. Open Source Software
   opensource.org
   “software with source code that anyone can
   inspect, modify and enhance”
   

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5. Open Source Software
   

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6. Open Source software is at the centre of the
   tech industry, even when it’s invisible.
   

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7. Why is the idea of contributing to
   Open Source software so scary?
   

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8. Why is the idea of contributing to
   Open Source software so scary?
   Open Source Software is open
   

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9. Why is the idea of contributing to
   Open Source software so scary?
   Open Source Software is open
   Open Source is volunteer work
   

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10. Why is the idea of contributing to
    Open Source software so scary?
    Open Source Software is open
    Open Source is volunteer work
    Impostor syndrome is real
    

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11. You are good enough.
    

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13. Different types of
    contributions
    

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14. Different types of
    contributions
    Open Source is design.
    

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15. Different types of
    contributions
    Open Source is UX and UI.
    

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16. Different types of
    contributions
    Open Source is marketing.
    

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17. Different types of
    contributions
    Open Source is community.
    

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18. Different types of
    contributions
    Open Source is project management.
    

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19. Different types of
    contributions
    Open Source is testing.
    

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20. Different types of
    contributions
    Open Source is translation.
    

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21. Different types of
    contributions
    Open Source is documentation.
    

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22. The path to your first
    contribution
    

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23. The path to your first
    contribution
    Find a project with a welcoming community
    

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24. The path to your first
    contribution
    Awesome for Beginners

    https://github.com/MunGell/awesome-for-
    beginners
    Find a project with a welcoming community
    

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25. The path to your first
    contribution
    Great for new contributors

    https://github.com/showcases/great-for-new-
    contributors
    Find a project with a welcoming community
    

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26. The path to your first
    contribution
    Bugs Ahoy!

    https://www.joshmatthews.net/bugsahoy
    Find a project with a welcoming community
    

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27. The path to your first
    contribution
    Look for issues that don’t require much expertise
    

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28. The path to your first
    contribution
    Up for Grabs

    http://up-for-grabs.net
    Look for issues that don’t require much expertise
    

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29. The path to your first
    contribution
    YourFirstPR

    http://yourfirstpr.github.io
    Look for issues that don’t require much expertise
    

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30. The path to your first
    contribution
    Use the power of GitHub labels
    

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31. The path to your first
    contribution
    Use the power of GitHub labels
    first-timers-only

    quick-fix

    help-wanted

    beginner-friendly
    

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34. Your first meaningful
    project
    

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36. Your first meaningful
    project
    Contribute to tools or projects you use
    

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37. Your first meaningful
    project
    Look for projects that can use your skills or knowledge
    

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39. Your first meaningful
    project
    Choosing which project to contribute to is like deciding
    which organisation you want to do volunteer work for.
    

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40. Your first meaningful
    project
    Ask yourself:
    

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41. Your first meaningful
    project
    Is the project important to me?

    

    

    

    Ask yourself:
    

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42. Your first meaningful
    project
    Is the project important to me? 

    Does my work make a difference?

    

    

    Ask yourself:
    

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43. Your first meaningful
    project
    Is the project important to me? 

    Does my work make a difference? 

    Do I like the community?

    

    Ask yourself:
    

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44. Your first meaningful
    project
    Is the project important to me? 

    Does my work make a difference? 

    Do I like the community? 

    Do I agree with the project’s values?

    Ask yourself:
    

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45. Your first meaningful
    project
    Is the project important to me? 

    Does my work make a difference? 

    Do I like the community? 

    Do I agree with the project’s values? 

    Is there work available for me to do?
    Ask yourself:
    

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46. Choosing and working on
    your issue
    

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47. Choosing and working on
    your issue
    Join the community
    

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48. Choosing and working on
    your issue
    Start with CONTRIBUTING.md
    

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50. Choosing and working on
    your issue
    Follow the documentation to setup the project
    

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51. Choosing and working on
    your issue
    Get acquainted with the project 

    by helping with issue gardening
    

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52. Choosing and working on
    your issue
    The issue tracker is a good place to start
    

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53. Choosing and working on
    your issue
    Don’t hesitate to ask questions
    

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54. Choosing and working on
    your issue
    Follow the project’s code conventions
    

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55. Choosing and working on
    your issue
    Be respectful of other people’s time
    

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56. Choosing and working on
    your issue
    Don’t do any work you don’t want to do
    

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57. Choosing and working on
    your issue
    Start your own project
    

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58. Maintaining an Open
    Source project
    

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59. Maintaining an Open
    Source project
    Don’t forget where you came from
    

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60. Maintaining an Open
    Source project
    Make your project accessible
    

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61. Maintaining an Open
    Source project
    Make your project welcoming
    

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62. Maintaining an Open
    Source project
    Add (and enforce) a Code of Conduct.
    

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63. Maintaining an Open
    Source project
    Write clear, well-defined issues
    

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64. Maintaining an Open
    Source project
    Reward your contributors
    

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66. Maintaining an Open
    Source project
    Communicate (but don’t over-promise)
    

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67. Maintaining an Open
    Source project
    Learn to say no
    

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68. Maintaining an Open
    Source project
    Be a mentor
    

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71. Maintaining an Open
    Source project
    Give people (some) control
    

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72. Maintaining an Open
    Source project
    Set clear boundaries for yourself
    

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73. Open Source needs you
    

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74. Open Source needs you
    Software is as much about people 

    as it is about code
    

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75. Open Source needs you
    

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76. –Nadia Eghbal
    “Today, more people use Open Source, but
    fewer people contribute back, than ever before.
    And everybody assumes that somebody else is
    doing it.”
    

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