Guide: You can Contribute to Open Source Community in these Ways
Open source software has accelerated the development of information technology and created opportunities never seen before. Just think of startups and small businesses using free CMS such as Drupal or WordPress, or desktop environments of Linux distributions that we can use for free. Open source software that we can download from places like Sourceforge, GitHub or the WordPress Plugin Repository are usually written and maintained by volunteer developers in their spare timeIf we have ever used open source software, we are not only an end user, but also a member of the Open Source Community. Since the success of the movement is highly dependent on the users, it is important to consider open source as our own project, and think about what we can do to help improve open source products (software, plugins, themes, snippets of code, blogging platforms, operating systems, etc.) that we use. With Christmas coming, in this post we take a look at how we can give back to the Open Source Community, as much or as little as we have the time and capacity.
1. Give positive reviews to our favorite software
Since open source developers don’t usually receive financial compensation, they need to be motivated differently. Many of them have unfortunately found that users tend to give negative reviews much more easily than positive ones. This tendency is usually seen as a result of basic human psychology, as an angry user confused by non-functional software. will comment on quality more quickly than someone whose needs have been met, but it is worth thinking about it from another aspect as well. Getting few positive reviews can be very demotivating for open source developers, so when we find a good theme, plugin or software, it’s always a good idea to go back to the original site and leave positive feedback to the developers. Even if they don’t have time to reply, they will certainly appreciate it. Christmas can be a great time to surprise the authors of our favorite plugins and themes with an amazing review as a gift.
2. Ask questions before posting negative reviews
Despite all good will, it often happens that something does not work as we imagined. It’s not necessarily the software issue, but the can also stem from the problems of our local environment, the incompatibility with other software that we use, and many other things. Leaving a negative review should be seen as a last resort if we want a thriving Open Source Community. We must always remember that we get the software we need for free, so we are not so much in the role of a customer but rather as a peer
Online platforms where we can download open source software usually offer some ways to contact the developers so before leaving that funny 1 star review it’s always a good idea to describe the problem in detail (more below), and ask questions in the support forumIn most cases, developers will respond quickly.
3. Help developers to easily reproduce bugs
Whether we have access to a support forum, or a debugging system, or we just contact the developers directly via email or through a social media site, it is always crucial to describe our problem in detail Good bug reporting is an art in itself and can be of great help to developers if done correctly so worth thinking about how to put it together well.
Developers must knows step by step what we were doing before we encountered the bug, how exactly the failure occurred, what other software / plug-ins are running at the same time and in some cases the platform, operational system, and device we used. Bug reports and reviews that only say “this plugin is rubbish” or “rubbish rubbish” aren’t particularly helpful.
4. Contribute to support forums
If we’ve been using software, a plugin, a theme, or a blogging platform for a while, we can easily give back to the community by share our existing knowledge with less experienced usersMost sites that offer open source material have thematic support forums where anyone can register.
We don’t need to be a developer to help as there are usually a lot of non-technical questions too. Contributing to support forums is important not only because we can help others, but also because this is one way to keep our knowledge fresh
5. Tell us more about software we like
When we’ve found something that we particularly like, providing free coverage or promotion It’s also an excellent way to be a committed member of the Open Source community. If we have a blog or contribute to someone else’s, we don’t have to do anything but write an interesting post about it. Here, on hongkiat.com, we have done this many times and will continue to do so in the future.
If you don’t have a blog, you can also choose to spread the word about your favorite software on social media sites. In this way we not only help open source developers, but also other people looking for good software for this or that purpose.
Recommend features, but with great care
Feature requests can be helpful, but only if they are made with the utmost care. If we do it with care and show developers that we understand and appreciate their work, we can give them valuable ideas by educating them on how to improve the software IMAGE: Freepik Unfortunately many users don’t behave really respectfully When making feature requests, some even give bad reviews to perfectly working plugins just because they use the features They need. This kind of behavior turns many talented developers away from open source, so if we want the community to thrive, we always have to treat developers as partners, and ask for features With respect.
Be a software tester
Software needs to be thoroughly tested, so if we have some spare time, or are particularly interested in a plugin or an app, we can be a voluntary software testerOpen source teams usually inform users about testing opportunities on their websites, in newsletters, or on their social media profiles.
For example, the WordPress theme gave developers the chance to test their latest default theme, Twenty Sixteen, and even provided detailed instructions on how the testing process works. By testing products, we not only help, but we can learn a lot about the development process and the specific software
8. Upload a patch or an improvement
Open source teams always welcome new developers, so if we don’t want or have the time to start our own open source project it can also be extremely helpful if we upload patches for existing bugs, or improvements for improvementIf we want to, it is usually necessary create a patch file with a list of the differences we made
The WordPress team explains it very clearly how to submit a patch in accordance with the SVN version control system used by WordPress, and here’s one guide about how we can make a pull request if we want to contribute to a GitHub project. Creating patches requires coding, so it is only recommended for developers.
9. Contributing to documentation or translation
Usable software does not only consist of code, but also of needs comprehensible documentation, and in a globalized world, translations to. Most open source teams allow users to edit their existing documentation and to add new information to it; just think of the WordPress Codex. We don’t necessarily have to think about big things, we can even do it help by correcting typos and misinformation We can also collaborate on open source by translating our favorite software or app into a foreign language. This type of contribution is excellent for people whose native language is not English. After all, why would we want to live in a world where cool apps and software can’t be reached in other languages?
Software localization usually uses apps like Poedit that allow translating just one or two sentences at a time, so we don’t necessarily have to work a lot as every little contribution helps.
10. Continue to use Open Source Software
If we want to see a vibrant open source scene, we have to continue to actively use open source software, and don’t be afraid to try new onesIf we find something good we should not hesitate to recommend it to othersso they can take advantage of it too. Even if we are only avid and respectful users who do nothing but share our experiences, we have already contributed in a meaningful way.
You can Contribute to Open Source Community in these Ways: benefits
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Final note
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