GettingInvolved.md

Getting Involved

• Communities want to grow
  • Refer to previous lecture about community importance
  • Generally, as projects grow, they move away from BDFL/Lone Wolf models
    • More "stable" over time if more get involved
    • With more heads come more ideas
• There is a general path for getting involved
  • Not 100% of people take this route
  • Some folks take the route only up to a certain point
• See definitions below
• A path for getting involved
  • Obtain more merit
    • Some do this over the course of many years
      • Casual participation
      • Busy with lots of projects
      • Come and go as time allows
    • Some do this very quickly
      • Work on the project during their day job
      • Can focus more resources, etc
  • Important point: All contributions matter and earn merit
  • User
    • As a user of the software, you have some of the best information
    • What bugs are out there?
      • Lots of bugs are caught during development
      • Some bugs ship so devs want to hear about it
    • How are you using the software?
      • What are unique things in your environment devs need to know about?
      • What integration points are important to you?
    • Does the software do what you think it should?
    • Is the documentation good?
    • Things a user does to earn merit
      • Tests the builds and provides feedback
      • Opens bug reports
      • Identifies gaps in the documentation
      • Hangs out in the various communications channels and helps answers questions
    • These all provide value to the community
      • This improves the standing of the user in the community
      • The community begins to value their contributions
      • Trust in the individual grows and they gain "weight"
  • Contributor
    • You've used the software but now want to scratch an itch
    • Contributors do what the name implies - they contribute something of technical value to the project
      • That is not to say the things an active user contributes isn't valuable
      • It's a gray area, but we'll draw the line at the exchange of bits
    • In addition to what a user may do, contributors...
      • Provide code changes as patches or pull requests
        • Add a new feature the contributor wants to see in the product
        • Fixes a bug they have found
        • Resolves bugs in the tracker by providing code
        • Adds to or fixes documentation
    • In short, a contributor does work on technical aspects of the project
      • The work they do is shared with the project
      • Someone with commit access will need to accept the contribution
    • Work is usually implicitly covered under a Contributor License Agreement
    • The contributor's input is highly valued by the community
      • Code changes are almost always welcomed
      • This shows the community the contributor is serious...
        • ... enough about the project to give their own time
        • ... enough about the project to invest in the project
      • The end sum is that the contributor gains merit and thanks for the work they do
  • Committer
    • You have provided so much value to the community that you have earned the commit bit
      • Formal recognition of contributions
      • Trusted to have write access to the repository
    • Being a committer on a project means that you are "officially" a developer on the project
      • Yeah, that can go on your resume
    • In addition to what a contributor may do, committers...
      • Accept patches and pull requests to merge them into the code base
      • Are given additional access and responsibilities
        • Can update the web page
        • Can sometimes speak on behalf of the project
        • May be able to create categories in the tracker or communications tools
      • Perform the tasks around releasing the project
      • May be able to digitally sign a release
    • These are the folks that are the "guts" of running the project
  • Voter
    • Quick note
      • Not all projects distinguish between committer and voter
      • Some consider a committer the top level
      • Some consider a committer to have enough merit to write to the code base, but not vote on certain things
      • Example:
        • In the ASF, a committer can add code, but cannot vote on a release
        • To vote on a release, you must be on the project management committee
    • You have homework to read about voting in OSS projects (too much to cover here)
    • These individuals have binding say in what the project does for the most critical of things
    • In addition to what a committer may do, a voter...
      • Release a version of the project (special because a release cannot be undone)
      • Setting the direction for the project
      • Making significant changes
    • A voter participates in the democratic process in the project when conflicts arise
  • Other roles
    • Not all projects are run the same (see committer vs voter above)
      • Sometimes there are additional levels or roles involved
      • There is no official way that must be done
    • Foundation participation creates its own set of levels and responsibilities
      • Legal or marketing
      • Conference or event planning
      • Board or membership
• Major takeaways
  • This is all about building merit and credibility in the community
    • As you do more, you are trusted more
    • Think of it as: By acting responsible, you are given more responsibilities
  • With a meritocracy, those who DO are given the most "weight"
  • Trust comes because one has shown their investment

Vocabulary

• User - An individual who installs and actively engages with the software being produced
• Contributor - An individual who provides input of any sort to the software being produced.
• Committer - An individual who has write access to the code repository
• Voter - An individual who has gained the ability to influence the direction of the project via binding votes