Jeremy Mikola
Symfony Live San Francisco
September, 28, 2012
Being a Good OSS Contributor
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Jeremy Mikola
@jmikola
Currently
Previously
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Who's using open-source software?
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Who has ever...
● Posted on the mailing list or forum
● Collaborated in IRC
● Answered a question on Stack Overflow
● Written a technical blog post
● Opened an issue on GitHub
● Attended a hack day event
● Submitted a pull request
● Published a bundle
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There is no shortage of opportunity.
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OSS projects need...
Documentation
Support
Evangelism
Development
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Evangelism
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How do we...
Discover open-source projects?
Elect to use them?
Become motivated to contribute?
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We do not have an infinite supply of
Lukas Smiths.
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Share Your Experience
● For current and prospective users
○ Blog posts
○ Case studies
● For project members
○ Answering RFC's
○ Weighing new features or changes
○ Highlighting what works and doesn't
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Feedback Guides Decision Making*
Praise → Reinforcement
Criticism → Reevaluation
*Except when it doesn't
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Don't Omit Criticism
Positive feedback loops are dangerous.
The best criticism is constructive.
Good decisions require objectivity.
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Be an advocate, not a fanboy.
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Growing the Community
● As individuals
○ Attend conferences
○ Host local meetups
○ Make friends!
● As companies
○ Sponsor the above
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Documentation
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How do we...
Get up and running?
Learn how to use a project?
Get acquainted with a new API?
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We do not have an infinite supply of
Ryan Weavers.
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Myth: Rock stars only write code...
...and this guy writes
the documentation.
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Documentation comes in all forms.
● Code
● API docs
● Test cases
● README
● The Book™
● Cookbooks and tutorials
● Starter apps and distributions
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But most users need these:
● Code
● API docs
● Test cases
● README
● The Book™
● Cookbooks and tutorials
● Starter apps and distributions
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Ingredients for great documentation:
Consistent writing style.
Users make the best authors.
Evolves as the code changes.
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Wrong documentation is dangerous.
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Writing proficiency is essential.
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Before You Commit
● Follow conventions
○ Formatting
○ Structure
○ Writing style
● Test your changes
○ Content: grammar, spelling, links
○ Syntax: reStructuredText, Markdown, HTML
○ Build: Sphinx, Docbook
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Translation opportunities.
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Support
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Users expect things to work.
Some users ask questions.
Good users file bug reports.
Awesome users submit patches.
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We do not have an infinite supply of
Christophe Coevoets.
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Support is...
Often a thankless job.
Necessary for growth.
Never finished.
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The Relentless Flow of Questions
● Why is the user asking this?
● Refer to existing content if possible
○ Previous discussions
○ Relevant documentation
● Good exchanges deserve visibility
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Bug Reports
● Encourage users to report actual issues
○ Handle security vulnerabilities responsibly
● Triaging saves time
○ Identify duplicate and invalid reports
○ Cross-reference related or upstream issues
● Fill in the gaps
○ Collect background information
○ Create failing test cases
○ Document workarounds
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Code Reviews
● Ensure the test suite passes
○ Is the current test coverage sufficient?
○ Avoid arguments with travisbot
● Object calisthenics*
● Coding standards and conventions
○ https://github.com/klaussilveira/phpcs-psr
○ https://github.com/fabpot/PHP-CS-Fixer
*Helpful principles, but don't go overboard
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Teach others to do what you're doing.
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Support is a big part of it.
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Development
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We do not have an infinite supply of
Fabien Potenciers.
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Taking the First Step
How many OSS projects started because of a
tangible need for some basic functionality?
How many core developers got their start by
fixing a small bug?
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Reconnaissance
Start with bug fixes or small tasks.
Collect feedback prior to major contributions.
Join developer chats and roadmap discussions.
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Over two
years ago!
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Be a humble contributor.
Who are you implementing this for?
Review your own work before you expect
someone else to.
Don't turn code reviews into religious debates.
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There are no small contributors, just
small changesets.
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Don't create borders where there are
none*.
*CLA's may be a valid excuse