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Can you point me (regular joe c# programmer) to some resources that show how to contribute to .NET and start the path to membership? I'm guessing the simple ans

Can you point me (regular joe c# programmer) to some resources that show how to contribute to .NET and start the path to membership? I'm guessing the simple answer is "go to github, check out the latest branch of aspnetcore, start fixing bugs in the Issues list and pray to god someone accepts your PR" but somehow I imagine the barrier to entry is a bit higher than that. Thanks!

jongalloway2 8y ago
Great question! I'll get a blog post out with a more detailed answer, but some quick tips for getting started: 1. Start with conversation - it's much better to start with a new issue or a comment on an existing issue, letting the repo owners know that you're interested and want to contribute to a specific issue. They may give you tips, let you know that the issue's already being worked, etc. 2. Docs are a great way to get started. You can go to any of the .NET Core / ASP.NET Core docs on docs.microsoft.com (e.g. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/ https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/), click the edit button, make your corrections or contributions in the browser, and submit. 3. Many projects use the up-for-grabs label for issues that are easy for first time contributors, e.g. https://github.com/aspnet/AspNetCore/labels/up-for-grabs https://github.com/aspnet/AspNetCore/labels/up-for-grabs (again, start with a comment on these, since some of them are a little old and may no longer be relevant) 4. Don't just think about the big name .NET projects. Membership is open to contributors to any .NET Foundation project, including a lot of projects with small teams that would love some help. Check out the full list here (https://dotnetfoundation.org/projects https://dotnetfoundation.org/projects), or tweet me with hashtag #dotnethelpwanted and I'll rt to help get you matched up. 5. Check out some of the help wanted listings, e.g. https://discoverdot.net/issues/?tab=helpwanted https://discoverdot.net/issues/?tab=helpwanted (remember we're looking for .NET Foundation projects for membership)
ocdtrekkie 8y ago
I just want to point out that you will not need to pray to God to get a PR accepted in a Microsoft repo if their docs team is any indication. They are nearly aggressively professional at handling GitHub issues. Minor mentions of confusions I've had on docs.microsoft.com were zealously assigned, pursued, and fixed, and the PRs I submitted to the code samples there were approved within a day or two.
- SaltyBackendGuy 8y ago
  I've had the opposite experience about a year ago with their Node.js PowerBI repo. Although, they deprecated that SDK within a few months after, so it's possible it was more of a resource issue.
- setquk 8y ago
  Versus the whole "we don't want telemetry on by default" argument which the response was "fuck off" then they shipped packages for Debian that the "disable the telemetry" environment variable didn't work on...
- GordonS 8y ago
  I've had the same experience with docs, but the polar opposite with .NET Core FX and ASP.NET Core - seems any new features need to be discussed by committee, and can take several months or even years before they will then say "OK, send a PR", even for features that there is demand for. Even for bugfixes, I've been really dissapointed in their responses - they call any change in behaviour a 'regression', and won't accept fixes, even if the behaviour they want to preserve only exists as a side effect of the bug, and nobody could possibly want in any case! I write this as a .NET fanboi, but my negative experience of trying to contribute to Microsoft's OSS projects has been left me dissolutioned.

jongalloway2 8y ago

Great question! I'll get a blog post out with a more detailed answer, but some quick tips for getting started: 1. Start with conversation - it's much better to start with a new issue or a comment on an existing issue, letting the repo owners know that you're interested and want to contribute to a specific issue. They may give you tips, let you know that the issue's already being worked, etc. 2. Docs are a great way to get started. You can go to any of the .NET Core / ASP.NET Core docs on docs.microsoft.com (e.g. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/ https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/), click the edit button, make your corrections or contributions in the browser, and submit. 3. Many projects use the up-for-grabs label for issues that are easy for first time contributors, e.g. https://github.com/aspnet/AspNetCore/labels/up-for-grabs https://github.com/aspnet/AspNetCore/labels/up-for-grabs (again, start with a comment on these, since some of them are a little old and may no longer be relevant) 4. Don't just think about the big name .NET projects. Membership is open to contributors to any .NET Foundation project, including a lot of projects with small teams that would love some help. Check out the full list here (https://dotnetfoundation.org/projects https://dotnetfoundation.org/projects), or tweet me with hashtag #dotnethelpwanted and I'll rt to help get you matched up. 5. Check out some of the help wanted listings, e.g. https://discoverdot.net/issues/?tab=helpwanted https://discoverdot.net/issues/?tab=helpwanted (remember we're looking for .NET Foundation projects for membership)

ocdtrekkie 8y ago

I just want to point out that you will not need to pray to God to get a PR accepted in a Microsoft repo if their docs team is any indication. They are nearly aggressively professional at handling GitHub issues. Minor mentions of confusions I've had on docs.microsoft.com were zealously assigned, pursued, and fixed, and the PRs I submitted to the code samples there were approved within a day or two.

SaltyBackendGuy 8y ago
I've had the opposite experience about a year ago with their Node.js PowerBI repo. Although, they deprecated that SDK within a few months after, so it's possible it was more of a resource issue.
setquk 8y ago
Versus the whole "we don't want telemetry on by default" argument which the response was "fuck off" then they shipped packages for Debian that the "disable the telemetry" environment variable didn't work on...
GordonS 8y ago
I've had the same experience with docs, but the polar opposite with .NET Core FX and ASP.NET Core - seems any new features need to be discussed by committee, and can take several months or even years before they will then say "OK, send a PR", even for features that there is demand for. Even for bugfixes, I've been really dissapointed in their responses - they call any change in behaviour a 'regression', and won't accept fixes, even if the behaviour they want to preserve only exists as a side effect of the bug, and nobody could possibly want in any case! I write this as a .NET fanboi, but my negative experience of trying to contribute to Microsoft's OSS projects has been left me dissolutioned.