4 ms·
the choice of projects seems somewhat arbitrary. i've only contributed to one (python), but i can definitely say that many of these codebases are total messes (
by rafekett 13y ago
the choice of projects seems somewhat arbitrary. i've only contributed to one (python), but i can definitely say that many of these codebases are total messes (drupal, libreoffice for sure) which would make me _not_ want to work on these projects. in reality, the easiest way to get introduced to open source is to start your own projects to build the kind of reputation and experience necessary to contribute to bigger projects.
- rquirk 13y agoOr make contributions to something you use that is small and self contained. All the examples here seem way too big to get started with IMO. Take "Ubuntu", it covers so much! You're better off fixing bugs upstream in the individual projects that interest you than rushing headlong into the Ubuntu bureaucracy-fest. Dunno about Drupal or LO. The latter did have a lot of publicized cleaning up done recently. Might be better nowadays? Still a massive codebase though. Python seems like the "easiest" contender - it compiles without many dependencies in a few minutes on a fast machine, and has good docs - but the article already hints that there's not much low-hanging fruit left.
- moomin 13y agoAlthough I don't agree with the list, the metric they applied is a good one: does the project actual welcome contributions? I mean, nearly everyone says they do, but the reality is rather different. They probably should have recommended you stay away from GNOME, as well.