Community Contributions to Open-Source Projects
2022-05-01
Disclaimer
These slides only serve as a starting point for the discussion.
All content is only based on my personal experience. Actual research has been conducted in this area and I should definitely spend more time reading it.
Why should we contribute?
- opportunity for new collaborations
- save time for others (including your future self)
What motivates me to contribute to open-source?
Sense of duty / accomplishment
What discourages me to contribute to open-source?
- Lack of explicit invitation to contribute
- Lack of responsiveness / dead project
- Technical hurdles (detailed after)
Technical hurdles
- Lack of contributing documentation
- High mental load: spambots, new tools, etc.
Sustaining engagement
- Acknowledge contributors (making them co-authors or co-maintainers)