Participating well.
WHY IT IS WORTH DOING
Review by experienced practitioners Exposure to substantial real codebases A public record of your work Understanding of collaborative workflow
WHERE TO START
Projects you actually use Documentation improvements Issues marked as suitable for newcomers
WHAT TO DO BEFORE WRITING ANYTHING
Read the contribution guidance Read recently accepted changes, to learn the conventions Get the project building and its tests passing
WHAT TO DO FOR ANYTHING SUBSTANTIAL
Open an issue first, and agree the approach.
WHY
Substantial unsolicited changes are frequently declined, and the effort is wasted.
WHAT TO KEEP SMALL
Your first contribution.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Slow responses Extensive review comments Changes not accepted
WHAT THAT LAST ONE IS NOT
A judgement of you.
WHAT TO DO WITH REVIEW
Treat it as instruction, and act on it promptly.
WHAT TO NEVER DO
Argue about established conventions Abandon a change partway through review
