The few times I tried to contribute, project owners were very hostile and territorial. One thing that should be mentioned is (at least in my humble experience),

The few times I tried to contribute, project owners were very hostile and territorial. One thing that should be mentioned is (at least in my humble experience), you need to socialize with the devs somehow first and get them to know and like you a bit. I have seen projects that encourage any contribution from anyone at all but those have been rare. Essentially, the bigger the project, the more there is a "community particiation" social aspect to it. Be glad to be corrected in this if perhaps it is my experience that is rare.