Author(s)
Quite frequently when it comes to contributing to open source I hear questions/doubts such as:
- where do I start
- how do I find projects/issues
- can I help out as a newbie
- are there other ways I can contribute besides coding
Which is why I’d love to share a little bit about Hacktoberfest, which is an event organized by DigitalOcean that runs through the whole month of October that is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. It’s an event encourages people from all over the world, from all walks of life and all skill levels to contribute to open source projects.
Participating
Participating in Hacktoberfest is quite straightforward:
- Register: Sign up for Hacktoberfest on the official website between September 26 and October 31. This is a simple step that helps you keep track of your contributions.
- Find Projects: Look for projects on GitHub or GitLab that are participating (tagged with the "Hacktoberfest" label) to ensure your contributions count toward the event.
- Read Contribution Guidelines: Usually projects with have a README and/or CONTRIBUTING file containing some information on how you can contribute/how to find good tickets (such as tagged with #beginnerfriendly, #good-first-issue, etc.) Please follow these to make the experience as pleasant as possible for everyone
- Contribute: find a good ticket, drop a mention you'd like to work on it to prevent multiple people working on it. And raise your merge request. Please do not be afraid of this process, they will provide helpful feedback in case any changes are needed
All kinds of contributions are possible, and you certainly don't need to be a developer:
- publicity: writing a blogpost/making a YouTube video/making a clip/organizing an event or talk
- artistic soul: plenty of projects are looking for help with UI design/assets
- writing: adding a tutorial/helping with the documentation/help with translation
- testing: thorough bug reports are always much appreciated
Please do keep in mind the core values:
- everyone is welcome: whether you're writing your first line of code, or you're a veteran every contribution is much appreciated
- quality over quantity: both for the projects, as your own development fewer, but more meaningful contributes are better
- it all adds up: it's amazing to see what can be achieved by all these contributions, and the contributions from those that contributed beforehand.
Advantages of contributing to open source
- meeting likeminded people: you'll discover some superb people with similar interests & passions
- learning & personal growth: it's a great way to discover a new domain/technology, and you will get great support & feedback from the organisers.
- giving back: we all use a lot of open source libraries/utilities
- career opportunities: you might discover some interesting projects, get deeply involved on them and you might get onboarded.
And in case of Hacktoberfest, the first 50 000 participants that complete a pull request/merge request will mean one more purchased tree through Tree Nation (yes, for those familiar with Hacktoberfest, there will be no more t-shirts ) and a digital reward pack (a customizable badge, and some surprises from the sponsors)
Conclusion
Hacktoberfest is a fantastic opportunity to engage with the open source community, enhance your skills, make a meaningful contribution to a project, and come in contact with some magnificent people
Links
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A (Definitive?) Guide to LazyInitializationException
Posts that have been written about Hibernate’s LazyInitializationException could probably fill whole books.
Yet, I believe each of them focuses on a particular aspect of it: some on a specific solution, some on how to solve it with Spring Boot, etc.
I’d like this post to be the definitive guide on the subject, even though I’m pretty sure it won’t.
At least, I’ll be able to point others to it!
Read More
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Are Java Security Updates Important?
Recently, I was in discussion with a Java user at a bank about the possibilities of using Azul Platform Core to run a range of applications.
Security is a very serious concern when sensitive data is in use, and potentially huge sums of money could be stolen.
I was, therefore, somewhat taken aback when the user said, “We’re not worried about installing Java updates as our core banking services are behind a firewall.”
Read More -
Boldness in Refactoring!
“Don’t touch it, it works” is problematic. It leads us down a bad path. How do you handle a project that held that policy for years?
Read More
