Participating in the open source community: Giving back

Ok. So you are using open source software, and you find it very useful. Perhaps you are starting to experience desires to give back to the community that provided you with this great software. If that is true, then I commend you on your giving spirit.

Here are five steps that you can follow to give back to the open source community. I have listed them in order of increasing commitment.

1. Use open source

It is not just the URL of this blog, it is what I recommend to everyone. Use it at home, and use it at work. Use it on your desktops, laptops, servers, hand-held devices, cell-phones, consumer devices, space ships, etc.

2. Share the love

Get other people excited about open source. Show them what it is all about, how they can benefit from it, and why it makes the world a better place. Show them how to get FREE Ubuntu disks shipped to them. We should encourage our governments to take advantage of the benefits of open source. Use your vote to support open source initiatives and projects.

3. Documentation and support

Create wiki pages to document how to install, configure, and use the various aspects of open source. Answer user questions on the Ubuntu forum, Ubuntu IRC channel, or Ubuntu mailing lists.

4. Simple development

Find and report bugs to Launchpad. Look at existing bugs, check for duplicate bug reports, verify that the bugs are repeatable, and then assign them a priority (also known as "bug triage").

5. Advanced development

Create Ubuntu/Debian packages of your favorite applications, fix bugs and submit patches to upstream developers. Join the Masters of the Universe.

Comments

  1. Anonymous9/12/2006 7:07 PM

    Nice article Tristan. I don't think many people have thought about those charity contributions.

    Hope to see ya at the next meet {hint hint}

    ReplyDelete

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