Start Contributing to Open Source Software | Hacker News Reader

Start Contributing to Open Source Software

markushatvan.com

30 pointsfagnerbrack20 comments

Given that we use technology widely to support our lifestyles and workflows, and that it's frustrating whenever technology doesn't work as expected, it staggers me that we rely on proprietary systems when we have a global talent pool available to investigate and fix problems, and add features.

Yes, not all software modifications are straightforward, and not all contributions can be accepted straight away, but with careful review and guidance (aided by issue trackers, code review, and supportive communities), there's a path to continuous, collaborative improvement.

There are certainly challenges in FOSS development: how to ensure that contributors have their needs covered (and ideally exceeded), how to deal with (rare, almost hypothetical) predatory/troll projects that would try to acquire work effort without providing value in return, and how to ensure that projects and contributors alike understand and work within legal bounds that they're comfortable with. For the latter item, thankfully, many real-world situations can be resolved via good faith communication.

Technology is much more than software, isn't it.

Yep, certainly is - did you have any particular area(s) of technology in mind? Some of the ideas from FOSS could probably apply elsewhere too.

I meant it when you said that our lifestyle depends on Technologie that a lot is not software. So house building, gas and oil exploration and harvest, agriculture Technologie, Pipelines, Power plants, heating systems, cars, transportation, airplanes, telecommunication. A lot of obthis is nowadays dependent on computers but most doesn't have to.

Why you should give away your work for free... Don't listen. If you make something and want to share it with others, do so. But do it because you want to, not because some blog post guilt trips you into it.

I don't see how the blog guilt trips anyone. I, instead, see very well constructed points on why one should consider contributing to open-source.

Mozilla, famously, open sources all of its code but more importantly dedicates all its trivial code to the public domain. If most competent developers / organization at the very least followed such a line of policy, think of the learning that could entail, technological advances that could be turbo-charged, all the duplicated work that could be avoided.

This isn't a hot-take by any measure. Examples of enormous impact of FOSS are right in front of us: More developers doing so only adds to this amazing ecosystem.

The blog post gives examples of how one can benefit from contributing to open source projects, e.g. "You can learn a lot from the source code" and "it can be very rewarding to see your own code helping so many people."

An article is more than its title.

Reminds of that meme that I can't find now: It shows how every open source proponent dreams how many people collaborate as a group on the project.

In reality it's just one guy that makes 99.9% of all commits and without him the project wouldn't even exist, everyone else is insignificant and irrelevant to the project.

yes, but when he gets fed up of it, that project can be forked and the cycle can continue. I'm not sure to follow your comment: are you doubting the model? or the results?

I feel like I do more for open source by not contributing - given my staggering incompetence, I'd only make things worse.

Hardly. Tons of projects needs documentation, translation, website/wiki updates etc.

Even a simple thing as triaging bugs is very important and contributes to the project, and is an excellent way to learn the codebase of you're a coder.

But the most important thing you need as a new contributor is patience. Submission reviews take time so does learning, eventually your contribution will be a part of the project.

Great comment. I am on that team as well.

For me there is legal uncertainty if my work contract (with the applicable laws) actually allow me to contribute. I do not want to ask my boss for permission nor do I want to pay a lawyer. What would really help is an overview with if the general legaslative framework of a country with the common work contracts (for software devs) permit open source contributions. Well maybe my proble is unique, but maybe more ppl would just test the waters if it were clear.

From what I'm aware of, the cases to watch out for are companies that have an "all your base are belong to us" clause in their contract. Typically it is worded as "any invention, innovation or idea conceived solely by you or jointly with others at any time during your course of employment, and that relate to any current or future business activities of the employer". Of course I don't know how much such as broadly sweeping agreement can hold up in court, but apparently there are some companies (Google comes to mind) that have a department which will review their employee open source contributions and give them the green light (or not) to contribute.

For future employment, I always watch out for that clause. And then I ask questions such as "Does this include any volunteer work I do for charities, such as help them with their web site setup?"

Thanks. Such clauses seem pretty standard here. Also a lot of contracts are 'unionized' (don't know the right term) so there is zero room for negotiation.

Edit: also the google approval prevents tinkering (which for me is the prerequisite of hobby engagement)

> so there is zero room for negotiation

My understanding is there is still room for clarification.

E.g. If you ask "This doesn't apply to me helping charities in my spare time though right?" and they say it doesn't, then that's binding.

Similarly clarifying that open source projects that aren't related to the product they sell aren't covered.

Ambiguity = flexibility

Local laws may win over whatever is written in the contract. In some places the creative work you do on your free time and your own computer is yours. In other countries that's not the case. In my experience doing creative work across multiple countries you should check with your employer and get written approval to contribute to open source in your free time (or best case, during work times too)

individual open source contributor = free work

Yes, but at least it is an activity that actually contributes to something and may provide a learning opportunity if you don't have a natural direction for your creativity.

I can think of an enormous corpus of things that does not contribute to anything in any way -- like watching sports ;)

I live a lot more safely in my country thanks to the "free work" done by volunteer firefighters ;).

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