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About this talk
Interested in trying out Open Source contributing, and can't find a project you're comfortable in?
Maybe you found an issue but the scope is too big to start?
There are other ways to get into Open Source! In this talk, we'll cover non-code contributions, the different types there are, and how to get started in a way that works for you.
Spoiler: This is how I got my start in Open Source!
Talk Recording
Slides
Resources
- Non-code Contributions at Kubernetes
- How to Make Non-Code Contributions
- My slides
- Open Source Etiquette
- Working in Public
- Give back to Open Source, make an impact, build your career!
🌈 Comment below and ask me questions — I might just answer them during my live speaker discussion!
About me
Hi! I'm Ramón — a software engineering and developer relations contractor based in Vienna, Austria.
I've spent the last twelve years being directly involved with small businesses and startups getting their apps off the ground or back in shape!
My main motivation is community. I've worked with software builders both new and experienced and dedicated my time to organising conferences, workshops and other events aimed at helping empower folks in their tech journey.
Feel free to reach out on Twitter!
This on-demand talk is part of CodeLand 2022 — a virtual conference brought to you by CodeNewbie & DEV on June 16 & 17, 2022.
Oldest comments (62)
For developers who would be new to open source, would contributing to a project via documentation be better as a first step into open source? What are tips of writing documentation for code that does not contain unit tests?
In my experience Angela, that's a good way to start 'cause, even if you do know how to code, maybe you get insecure in the beginning... so, contributing with docs, fixing typos or translation, for instance, could help you get used to the routine of contributing and overcome some apprehensions you may have. In other words, is a great way to settle in!
That said, I'm a newbie myself, but.. IMO, I guess the best way to get to know good documentation is to start reading good documentation yourself haha 😅 I mean, pick up a great and well-known project (it could be sth you're studying) and start reading it, picking up the structure, the language, the style... What do you think?
Thank you for your question and @rafaelbpires for your great reply!
The advice on reading good documentation is great. After all, documentation is supposed to help us solve problems with the project we're using/contributing to. So our fresh perspective is super valuable!
I have a book recommendation! It's called Docs for Developers:
link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978...
Really helped me understand how to not just write but appreciate good documentation.
But absolutely, any questions, concerns or issues you might have are highly appreciated by maintainers that care about good developer experience :)
Wish you all the best!
Interesting topic in my opinion!
World is gonna rule on open-source if everyone (or most of us) will take a part to spread word and help to see those opportunities.
Thanks, Aigars! Doing our part to contribute in any way we can 💜
How do you relate open source to advocacy in the software industry?
What a great question!
I think it comes with the job title, right, advocating for developers. With open source, I have the opportunity to make it as easy as possible for others to not just use the tool, but make it as easy as possible for them to contribute, as needed, should they want to.
And this comes with a lot of responsibilities in terms of aspects like code of conduct enforcement, proper communication, pair programming, and eliminating barriers to entry, listening for feedback, creating content, etc!
@amitchell05 , I'm with you. I would be more nervous about contributing documentation than code because of how important it can be to newbies like me.
Totally with you Michael. That's why I think our power as newcomers to a project can really be valuable for the onboarding processes of documentation!
How do you find and connect with open source projects on GitHub?
Heyhey Kit!
I can definitely recommend a place to look for these! One of my favourite platforms is OpenSauced:
opensauced.pizza/
This'll help you find projects as well as contributors.
Others include:
goodfirstissue.dev/
codetriage.com/what
How has interacting with other open source contributors and maintainers helped you deal with impostor's syndrome?
It has been a striking reminder of the fact that we are all human, we all have our own things going on, and that help in areas maintainers don't have the bandwidth to... well, maintain! is super appreciated.
At the same time, if somebody doesn't get back to me after I submit a PR, or writes to me with gratitude but can't merge it, I remember it's not personal, like Angie said in her talk!
community.codenewbie.org/codeland2...
Having been a contributor myself has also helped me with working with contributors to projects I'm maintaining. The most important part is to, above all, practice continued empathy. We all are starting out on codebases/projects on an ongoing basis, and this can be hard. If I can make this as easy as possible for folks and to show them that I am also wrangling my own impostor syndrome, then I absolutely will.
Thank you for this question, Michael!
Interesting ideas on how you contribute without writing code. I will have to start trying some of these.
Thank you, eager to know how it goes!
How can open source maintainers make their projects more accessible for non-code contributions at the README level?
Thanks for the question Brian!
I think outlining the need for help in these areas at that level is critical. Same goes for having a set of things for making these inclusive and approachable:
Just some ideas, but I'm sure there are more!
Great talk! Can you talk about a few reasons why you're passionate about Ruby on Rails as a community?
Thanks, Gracie!
For me it has to be hands down the community here. When I started getting into tech communities about eight years ago, they welcomed me with open arms, and I was so grateful to be able to pay it forward for others coming in later.
I learned a lot about how to be a good community member, the importance of inclusivity, the joy of learning and of course, teaching!
The events, conferences, the people, the opportunities have been incomparable for me, and I wouldn't be in the place I am in tech without them. 💜
Great talk! Thank you for all the suggestions and ideas!
Yay! Thank you so much for watching and your kind words 💜
Hi Ramón, thanks for your talk :)
Do you that is think effective the label "good for beginners" or "easy-start" to mark some issue or PR to review for newbies? How can we encourage newcomers to start in our projects?
Thank you so much, Dennis!
Absolutely a helpful convention to have! These repos can then be listed at places like Good First Issue:
goodfirstissue.dev/
And even moreso, I'd highly encourage, if possible (and energy allowing!!), to have a "mentorship available" or "mentorship provided" tag for issues, so folks know you're happy to pair with them on those!
Thanks for your answer.
In the past I attend to Wikimedia Hackathon (I'm part of Wikimedia movement, Wikipedia, Wikidata, etc), and my question about newcomers is who says "easy-to-start" issues are really easy to start, because in some cases the easy is create a new button or filtering a list, but both tasks needs a lot of knowledge about Mediawiki (triggers, coding practices and gerrit).
We (developers) have some problem to say what is easy 😅
What's an easy way to find an open source project to contribute?
Sure thing! One of my favourite platforms is OpenSauced:
opensauced.pizza/
This'll help you find projects.
Others include:
goodfirstissue.dev/
codetriage.com/what
You mentioned that you speak several languages fluently. How has this influenced your career? Has it helped you as a developer or developer advocate in any notable ways?
Oh gosh did I say fluently? I mean Spanish is my first language and my English is good enough I'm told, but my German is... even okayer haha!
I've been fortunate to be able to work with German-speaking clients during my time as a freelance software dev, realising being able to leverage my skills in communication with clients (and not having to write text in German) meant that I could collaborate without much issue and without the need for perfect grammar.
I have more recently started exploring the Latam world of sotware development advocacy. I've recently been working on a "Fundamentos de TypeScript" (TypeScript Fundamentals) course in collaboration with Escuela Frontend:
escuelafrontend.com/
When it comes to Developer Relations in Spanish, I'm very eager to recommend their Twitter community:
twitter.com/i/communities/15153900...
They host a Twitter Space every two weeks exploring the world of Spanish Developer Relations, which has been amazing to watch!
Doing so has been a positive challenge. Being able to connect with people from different parts and gather insight as well as perspectives on issues faced by developers has been beneficial.
You mentioned that you speak several languages fluently. How has this influenced your career? Has it helped you as a developer or developer advocate in any notable ways?
Oh gosh did I say fluently? I mean Spanish is my first language and my English is good enough I'm told, but my German is... even okayer haha!
I've been fortunate to be able to work with German-speaking clients during my time as a freelance software dev, realising being able to leverage my skills in communication with clients (and not having to write text in German) meant that I could collaborate without much issue and without the need for perfect grammar.
I have more recently started exploring the Latam world of sotware development advocacy. I've recently been working on a "Fundamentos de TypeScript" (TypeScript Fundamentals) course in collaboration with Escuela Frontend:
escuelafrontend.com/
When it comes to Developer Relations in Spanish, I'm very eager to recommend their Twitter community:
twitter.com/i/communities/15153900...
They host a Twitter Space every two weeks exploring the world of Spanish Developer Relations, which has been amazing to watch!
Doing so has been a positive challenge. Being able to connect with people from different parts and gather insight as well as perspectives on issues faced by developers has been beneficial.
Hola Ramon. Do you happen to know about OSS projects that would need that sort of non-coding help that you've seen or know about?
Heyhey Juan!
I can definitely recommend a place to look for these! One of my favourite platforms is OpenSauced:
opensauced.pizza/
This'll help you find projects as well as contributors.
Shameless little plug for a project I'm collaborating with that definitely needs support is Distribute Aid:
github.com/distributeaid/