Open Source Survival Guide

Collaboration is the key for successful software development. It works best when code can be understood and contributed to by many. Sometimes we think the unwritten rules for successful online collaboration are obvious, but experience has shown again and again that it is not. So let's discuss these rules and write them down so we have them. We will discuss how to make successful code contributions to the projects we all rely on, and offer some strategies for encouraging contributions on our own projects.

Transcript

1. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE @blowmage Presents…
5. :mlpbeer:
6. AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
7. 18 MONTHS
8. FULL TIME
9. OPEN SOURCE
10. AMA
11. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE HOW DID YOU GET THAT GIG? Inquisitive Ruby on Ales Attendee I HAVE GOOD FRIENDS WHO HELP ME. Mike Moore, Super Lucky
12. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE WHY IS YOUR BEARD SO MAGNIFICENT? Salt of the Earth Ruby on Ales Attendee I USE BEARD OIL AND COMB IT OFTEN. Mike Moore, Beard of Destiny
13. 3 TYPES OF OPEN SOURCE USERS
14. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE 3 TYPES OF OPEN SOURCE USERS Maintainers Collaborators Consumers
15. DREYFUS MODEL OF SKILL ACQUISITION
16. Mastery Expertise Proficiency Competence Novice OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE DREYFUS MODEL OF SKILL ACQUISITION
17. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE LEVEL 1: NOVICE Rigid adherence to taught rules or plans No exercise of "discretionary judgment"
18. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE LEVEL 2: COMPETENCE Limited "situational perception" All aspects of work treated separately with equal importance
19. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE LEVEL 3: PROFICIENCY “Coping with crowdedness" (multiple activities, accumulation of information) Some perception of actions in relation to goals Deliberate planning Formulates routines
20. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE LEVEL 4: EXPERTISE Holistic view of situation Prioritizes importance of aspects "Perceives deviations from the normal pattern" Employs maxims for guidance, with meanings that adapt to the situation at hand
21. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE LEVEL 5: MASTERY Transcends reliance on rules, guidelines, and maxims "Intuitive grasp of situations based on deep, tacit understanding" Has "vision of what is possible" Uses "analytical approaches" in new situations or in case of problems
22. PRAGMATIC THINKING AND LEARNING BY ANDY HUNT
23. AMA
24. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE 3 TYPES OF OPEN SOURCE USERS Maintainers Collaborators Consumers
25. DOCUMENTATION
26. THE ABSENCE OF A PROGRESSIVE, SMOOTH LEARNING RESOURCE THAT HAS NO SUDDEN JUMPS IN COMPLEXITY. Chris Smith OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
27. IF THE DOCUMENTATION IS BAD OR PARTIALLY COMPLETE IT CAN BE TOUGH TO UNDERSTAND OR IMPLEMENT. Joshua Richardson OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
28. I KEEP HEARING I SHOULD START WITH SUPPLEMENTING THE DOCUMENTATION, BUT HOW DOES THIS EVEN WORK? Barrett Clark OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
29. YOU FIND THE RIGHT SOLUTION BUT IT ISNT DOCUMENTED WELL ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND. Todd Resudek OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
30. SOMETIMES THE DOCUMENTATION ASSUMES A CERTAIN LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE HOW-TOS AND STEP-BY-STEP EXAMPLES. Tad Thorley OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
31. LACK OF SUPPORT AND DOCUMENTATION. Jon Jensen OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
32. FINDING DOCUMENTATION NOT WRITTEN BY EXPERTS WHO ASSUME CONTEXT THEY DON'T HAVE. Sarah Mei OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
33. PEOPLE WHO ARE BIG NAMES IN OPEN SOURCE AND WHO YOU LOOKED UP TO TREATING YOU LIKE CRAP. Hsing-Hui Hsu OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
34. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE DOCUMENTATION Finding Documentation GitHub Page RubyDocs.info Reading Source Code
35. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE TYPES OF DOCUMENTATION Code Documentation Method descriptions Method arguments Method example code
36. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE TYPES OF DOCUMENTATION Library Guides README Tutorials, step-by-step instructions Screencasts Books
37. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE README What the library does and does not Simple code example How to install the library Where to find code documentation Where to find guide documentation
38. THIS IS HARD
39. EMPATH
40. OPPORTUNITY
41. AMA
42. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE 3 TYPES OF OPEN SOURCE USERS Maintainers Collaborators Consumers
43. CONTRIBUTING
44. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE TYPES OF CONTRIBUTIONS Code Documentation Organization Software User Groups Conferences
45. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE TYPES OF CONTRIBUTIONS Code - Maintainers, Collaborators Documentation - Maintainers, Collaborators, Consumers Organization - Maintainers, Collaborators, Consumers Software User Groups Conferences
46. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE ENCOURAGING FIRST-TIME CONTRIBUTIONS CONTRIBUTING Setting up developer environment Contacting Maintainers (IRC, Gittter, Mailing List, etc.) Running Tests Code Conventions
47. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE AUTOMATING CONTRIBUTIONS Rubocop Automated Build (Travis-CI, Circle CI, etc.) First-time Issue Labels (easy, first time, help wanted, etc.) Vagrant
48. AMA
49. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE 3 TYPES OF OPEN SOURCE USERS Maintainers Collaborators Consumers
50. SURVIVING
51. USER GROUPS
52. I FOUNDED AND ORGANIZE A MEETUP SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO CREATE A WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT. Hsing-Hui Hsu OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
53. OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE SURVIVING WITH HELP FROM USER GROUPS Simply be active in a User Group! Find a Beginner-friendly User Group Start a Beginner-friendly User Group Help Organize a User Group “My First Pull Request” Night
54. I DON'T KNOW THAT YOU CAN LEARN A LOT ABOUT THIS BEFOREHAND. A LOT OF OPEN SOURCE KNOWLEDGE COMES FROM JUST CONTRIBUTING. YOU WILL MAKE MISTAKES. YOU WILL GET FRUSTRATED. IT IS NOT EASY... Eileen Uchitelle OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
55. BUT, IF YOU REMEMBER THAT EVERYONE IS HUMAN AND TREAT THEM AS SUCH, APOLOGIZE WHEN NECESSARY, AND WRITE GOOD EXPLANATIONS (AND COMMIT MESSAGES!) YOU WILL LEARN SO MUCH FROM CONTRIBUTING TO OSS. Eileen Uchitelle OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
56. COMMUNICATION
57. LEARNING TO COMMUNICATE "REMOTELY". WE'RE SO USED TO WORKING RIGHT WITH THE PEOPLE WHO WROTE THE PREVIOUS CODE IN OUR APPS IT CAN BE HARD TO ADJUST YOUR WRITING STRUCTURE AND TONE… Eileen Uchitelle OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
58. FOR COMMUNICATING WITH SOMEONE A) YOU DON'T KNOW AND B) THROUGH TEXT. ADDITIONALLY, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY… Eileen Uchitelle OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
59. DON'T BLAME OR HARASS MAINTAINERS FOR PROBLEMS, INSTEAD HELP THEM FIX IT. Eileen Uchitelle OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
60. “THE BOX”
61. LEADERSHIP AND SELF-DECEPTION THE ABRIDGER INSTITUTE
62. SELF-DECEPTION
63. “EXPERIENCING OTHER PEOPLE OR CIRCUMSTANCES AS HAVING MORE POWER OVER OUR OWN HAPPINESS THAN WE DO.”
64. I'M SORRY YOU FEEL THAT WAY. Mike Moore, Professional Idiot OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
65. STORY TIME
66. JUSTIFICATION IS THE ADULT VERSION OF BLAMING OTHERS
67. OBJECTS
69. WHEN SOMEONE WE HAVE BEEN BLAMING BECOMES REAL TO US, WE CHANGE. WE BECOME A PERSON WHO SEES ANOTHER PERSON AS REAL. WE CHANGE FROM BEING ACCUSING, GUARDED, AND SELF-ABSORBED TO BEING OPEN, SELF-FORGETFUL, AND WELCOMING. Terry Warner OPEN SOURCE SURVIVAL GUIDE
70. TIME MACHINE
71. THE RECONSIDERATION EXERCISE
73. COOPERATIVE GAME
74. AMA
82. THANK YOU!