Non-Code Contributions to promote Open Source

Contribute to open source! It’ll look great on your resume! It’s gratifying work!

You may have heard people make these statements, or ones similar to them, numerous times throughout your career. They’re not wrong contributing to open source is a rewarding endeavour in multiple dimensions but, when software engineers advise other software engineers to contribute to open source they usually mean code contributions. This is a fair assumption to make, but the reality is that there are numerous opportunities to contribute to open source without writing a single line of code. How? Let’s run through some of the non-code opportunities to contribute to open source.

This particular paragraph that I read made me to write about the way I am contributing in open source. You can read the article written by Safia Abdalla [Here]

Evangelize

It is not that your friends will be impressed seeing Linux installed on your system and they will instantly want to install Linux and use it. Open source is not that catchy to everyone. But its your role to evangelize them about the bright side of open source. If you are using open source software then spread the word about it among your circle. The guy who is doesn't know about open source is always using it unknowingly (android phones and various servers online which are hosted by Linux). If you are using any project related to open source then just share it: it will make a good impression.

Last semester I used an open source model (open sunbrust model) for data visualization. It helped me to get through my project.

  

Report bugs

 You don't need to be a geek to use any open source software. Best part as well as the worst part about linux is errors and troubleshooting them. So a non-code contribution to open source can be error reports or bug reports. For and error you face you can report it to its website or community support website. So that someone who have gone through the same error can give you the solution. If it is some new error than the core developer team will be happy to help you out to make their open source project efficient for many number of users.

Mentor

Solving any error is not always about revising the code. So while troubleshooting your problems you will find that adding the missing links in the source code or installing some missing plugins will solve the problem of a software. In that case you can share those ideas through support communities. It certainly takes a long time for the core developers team to get to your error and solve it. So community support site is the best way of mentoring and flourishing open source software.

Write

You can just write a sentence as a comment in any support communities which helps someone to solve their system. Your can ask questions or answer someone's in a descriptive way so that it will help all the people. You can answer the solution in stackoverflow, askubuntu or through social networking sites.

Host a meetup

Here in our university we volunteers from KUOSC  and FOSS NEPAL organize Open Source meetups and workshops like Linux Talks, FOSS KA KURA, E-Library Project, LTSP Workshops, Trainig of Trainee. Organizing such events is directly helping many students of the university to harness their skills about Open Source Softwares.

Localize

This activity is purely non-code and not-technical way of contributing in the open source projects. As the open source community extends all over the globe its you responsibility to make its use in your country. So language is the only way to communicate. Here in Nepal, we volunteers of FOSS NEPAL are localizing the Ubuntu Xenial 16.04 LTS in our official language Nepali. This will boost non-tech users as well as the government officials to be motivated towards open source software easily. You can contribute and localize it in your official language. It makes you feel special when you will see your contribution makes an effect , and your name in the contributors' list.

Improve security

You are not an expert in programming but your interest in security aspects may be so keen. If so is the case, you can  contribute some time in doint the application vulnerability resting or locating the loop holes in a project which can be threat to a open source project.

Conclusion

Open source projects are secured and trusted all over the globe by a combined effort of all tech and non-tech support communities overseas. So whoever or wherever you are you are always welcome to contribute in open source projects.
Now I totally rely on open source as it is secures, extensible, stable and every open source projects have a huge community support which makes me out of any problem within minutes. And open source projects are customizable and they allow us to shape it the way we want.

Lastly I would like to thank Sagia Abdalla for I wrote my viewpoints about ways of promoting Open Source reading hear article  [Here].