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Interesting perspective. My own domain is within linux-audio which does not involve all that much cash (I've investigated various funding models for my projects
by fundamental 8y ago
Interesting perspective. My own domain is within linux-audio which does not involve all that much cash (I've investigated various funding models for my projects as well as observed them for others and it is a hard game). Most of the projects are on the smaller side, so when you have a few people shift gears to spend time on volunteer events/activities it frequently slows down or pauses development.
I do try to put in community outreach time as it scratches a different itch than the more development focused day-job, however it does frequently seem to not lead too far. There are many cases where people interested in contributing are very junior individuals who need some assisting along the way due more to a lack of experience rather than lack of familiarity with the project in question. Linux audio in particular is challenging since it involves the intersection of several different domains (low-latency programming, DSP, C/C++, user interface coding/design, audio/speech processing backgrounds, technical writing, etc). So, people do end up being more green than I would expect compared to other open source domains.
Thanks for the specific suggestions. I've considered doing a specific hack day/weekend/etc event for a while, though I've never acted upon it since I don't really want to deal with the possibility that I end up spending a day or more and there is no activity in response.
I do like the idea of openings though. It's a clever way of presenting what the project has to offer as well as presenting specific enough profiles of people that it might get someone over the initial hump of "perhaps I should ask about contributing".
- arandr0x 8y agoYou seemed to have a very specific domain so I looked it up -- I think you're right, there's an inherently higher barrier to entry in your case. If you eventually do do a hack day, post it to HN, I'd give it a try! (I'm a very very beginner music maker and my own domain is graphics, not audio... but I do do fiddly low-level math in C++...)