5 ms·

Ask HN: Which open source needs contributors badly? I am a beginner

17 points by sanspace 14y ago

lutusp 14y ago
> ... Which opensource needs contributors badly? All of them. You might be better off choosing an open-source project based on your interests and background rather than looking for a project that's particularly desperate.
- sanspace 14y ago
  Thought of doing both. What would you suggest? Any favorites?
  - gopalv 14y ago
    Well, then go on - list your interests (or skills). And please don't pick a project that's desperate for people - It's a classic case of the mythical man month. Most of the time the core folks will find bringing up a new member up-to speed as a distraction, particularly when there's no commitment from either side to keep working on it (compared something like google summer of code). PS: if all else fails, pick up a new programming language & write examples/cookbook-recipes for it
Jeremy1026 14y ago
What language(s) would you want to work with?
- sanspace 14y ago
  I am a C developer and I work personally on PHP and have written some utility scripts using python. I don't stick to a language. I am a quick learner and I am flexible. I would like to start with a small tasks / modules as of now until I get a hold on things.
  - tnorthcutt 14y ago
    WordPress is run by ~17% of the web and is quite welcoming to people new to the community. These two links may be helpful: http://wp.tutsplus.com/articles/general/learning-how-to-contribute-to-wordpress-getting-started/ http://wp.tutsplus.com/articles/general/learning-how-to-cont... http://codex.wordpress.org/Contributing_to_WordPress http://codex.wordpress.org/Contributing_to_WordPress
eb0la 14y ago
All opensource projects need good documentation. That's not a small task ;-) but it's needed to get adoption. Pick something interesting but hard to start/learn/understand and WRITE. This will sharpen your communication skills, which is crucial when explaining stuff to non-technical people (like your manager). The installer / upgrade part of any project is also equally important; but it's better covered because it's part of the build process (the only exceptions is that you're selling enterprise software to a multi-million $$$ company: in that case your software must be as hard to install as posible in order to justify selling professional services).
cjbprime 14y ago
http://openhatch.org/ http://openhatch.org/
Gilly_LDN 14y ago
http://projects.apache.org/indexes/category.html http://projects.apache.org/indexes/category.html Take a look here.
hoggle 14y ago
If you don't have a GitHub account yet then get one and find projects that interest you ("explore"). This tool here helps you to stay on course by sending you emails regularly: http://www.codetriage.com http://www.codetriage.com
- mgallivan 14y ago
  I tried to sign up (because it's a fantastic idea) but I got: "We're sorry, but something went wrong." when I tried to authorize the application in GitHub. If this is your project I'd love to try it out if there's another way for me to sign up (or another date I can try).
- sanspace 14y ago
  The site doesn't seem to work. I am unable to sign up. It takes me to github auth. But, while returning from github it says something went wrong.
runarb 14y ago
Portable-VirtualBox needs more developers: http://www.vbox.me/blog/portable-virtualbox-needs-a-new-main-developer/ http://www.vbox.me/blog/portable-virtualbox-needs-a-new-main... HN post: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5219170 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5219170

17 points by sanspace 14y ago

> ... Which opensource needs contributors badly? All of them. You might be better off choosing an open-source project based on your interests and background rather than looking for a project that's particularly desperate.

sanspace 14y ago
Thought of doing both. What would you suggest? Any favorites?
- gopalv 14y ago
  Well, then go on - list your interests (or skills). And please don't pick a project that's desperate for people - It's a classic case of the mythical man month. Most of the time the core folks will find bringing up a new member up-to speed as a distraction, particularly when there's no commitment from either side to keep working on it (compared something like google summer of code). PS: if all else fails, pick up a new programming language & write examples/cookbook-recipes for it

Jeremy1026 14y ago

What language(s) would you want to work with?

sanspace 14y ago
I am a C developer and I work personally on PHP and have written some utility scripts using python. I don't stick to a language. I am a quick learner and I am flexible. I would like to start with a small tasks / modules as of now until I get a hold on things.
- tnorthcutt 14y ago
  WordPress is run by ~17% of the web and is quite welcoming to people new to the community. These two links may be helpful: http://wp.tutsplus.com/articles/general/learning-how-to-contribute-to-wordpress-getting-started/ http://wp.tutsplus.com/articles/general/learning-how-to-cont... http://codex.wordpress.org/Contributing_to_WordPress http://codex.wordpress.org/Contributing_to_WordPress

eb0la 14y ago

All opensource projects need good documentation. That's not a small task ;-) but it's needed to get adoption. Pick something interesting but hard to start/learn/understand and WRITE. This will sharpen your communication skills, which is crucial when explaining stuff to non-technical people (like your manager). The installer / upgrade part of any project is also equally important; but it's better covered because it's part of the build process (the only exceptions is that you're selling enterprise software to a multi-million $$$ company: in that case your software must be as hard to install as posible in order to justify selling professional services).

cjbprime 14y ago

http://openhatch.org/ http://openhatch.org/

Gilly_LDN 14y ago

http://projects.apache.org/indexes/category.html http://projects.apache.org/indexes/category.html Take a look here.

hoggle 14y ago

If you don't have a GitHub account yet then get one and find projects that interest you ("explore"). This tool here helps you to stay on course by sending you emails regularly: http://www.codetriage.com http://www.codetriage.com

mgallivan 14y ago
I tried to sign up (because it's a fantastic idea) but I got: "We're sorry, but something went wrong." when I tried to authorize the application in GitHub. If this is your project I'd love to try it out if there's another way for me to sign up (or another date I can try).
sanspace 14y ago
The site doesn't seem to work. I am unable to sign up. It takes me to github auth. But, while returning from github it says something went wrong.

runarb 14y ago

Portable-VirtualBox needs more developers: http://www.vbox.me/blog/portable-virtualbox-needs-a-new-main-developer/ http://www.vbox.me/blog/portable-virtualbox-needs-a-new-main... HN post: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5219170 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5219170