This is a list of the most frequently asked questions by members of this community.
Q: I am new to open source. Where should I start contributing? A: If it's your first time contributing to a project, please build and explore AnitaB.org Open Source. Some repositories have some "first timers only" issues for newcomers. For example, Mentorship Backend contains a list of “first timers only” issues regarding both Documentation and Quality Assurance.
Q: What is and who can join Community Open Sessions? A: These are sessions where anyone interested in discussing community concerns or projects can join regardless of title, membership level, repository access, or current program involvement.
Q: What is the minimal technical knowledge needed to contribute to AnitaB.org projects? A: Zero technical knowledge needed! Because you can always help with documentation, testing the app, creating wireframes to update it to the new branding guidelines, share our work through creating online content such as blog posts or posting on social media.
Q: As a newcomer, how can I contribute to this community?
- Help writing notes in Community Open Sessions
- Write new or improve current documentation
- Perform Code Reviews on Pull Requests
- Test a project feature and report bugs found through issues
- Share feedback on features, UI, UX, …
- Suggest improvements or new features
- Design UI/UX improvements
- Help community members with troubleshooting problems on Zulip and GitHub
- Design solution architecture
- Solve available issues on GitHub
You can also check out more ways to contribute on ways-to-contribute.md.
Q: I have found a bug. What should I do? A: Raise an issue and wait for the approval. Once it’s approved, if you wish to work on it, leave a comment asking to do so, if you are not interested in working on it, you can leave it as is for another contributor to pick it up.
Q: Which Issues/PRs do I review as a Newcomer/Mentor/Maintainer? A: All of them (regardless of the project).
Q: Can I contribute to GSoC projects even if I’m not a GSoC student? A: Yes, GSoC projects are discussed in public channels because we want community involvement. You can even attend weekly meetings for each project if you want to! These projects are just as open source as they were before the GSoC selections. You can contribute with ideas, and even issues if they're not labeled as GSoC issues.
Q: Can I private message and why can’t I send a PM to other AnitaB.org Open Source member? A: No. Private messaging is disabled and not allowed in the AnitaB.org community. This decision was made in an effort to reduce the amount of inappropriate conduct that was sent in private messages to our female-identifying members. Read more in this Zulip message by one of the admins.
Q: How do I get access to AnitaB.org Open Source Calendar to learn more about future Community Events/Office Hours? A: Check our calendar in different timezones: PST || EST || GMT || WAT || IST || AEDT. On the bottom right, you can add AnitaB.org Open Calendar to your own Google Calendar which will switch all events to your timezone automatically.
Q: I see a lot of projects have been archived. Which projects are active right now? A: We have several active projects going on and need work: Mentorship System (Android, Backend), anitab-org.github.io, BridgeInTech (backend and web), Open Source Programs (web and backend). If you want to work on an archived project, you can fork it and work on it independently. Your contributions will still be recognised.
Q: I picked out a project. What do I do next? A: Each project comes with a README which guides you on how to setup the project. If you face any problems you need to head over to the project’s Zulip channel and ask your question there. Someone from the community will help you out. If you need help right away, please mention @project-managers and someone will help you out. Once the project is setup, read the contributing guidelines to make your first contribution.
Q: Can previous ambassadors, apply to be an ambassador again? A: Yes! You can re-apply.
Q: Do GSoC mentors receive compensation? A: Please email [email protected] for inquiries and learn more information on the Google Summer of Code official website.
Q: Can I contribute to GSoC projects even if I’m not a GSoC student? A: Yes, GSoC projects are discussed in public channels because we want community involvement. You can even attend weekly meetings of each project if you want to! These projects are just as open source as they were before the GSoC selections. You can contribute with ideas, and even issues if they're not labeled as GSoC issues.
Q: Do I have to be a part of GSoC/Ambassadors/Maintainers to contribute to AnitaB.org Open Source? A: No, you don’t need to be a part of those programs to contribute to AnitaB.org Open Source. Anyone can contribute to the open source community anytime.
Q: Do I have to be a part of Open Source Ambassadors to contribute to AnitaB.org Open Source? A: No, you do not have to be a part of open source teams to contribute to AnitaB.org Open Source.
Q: What is the difference between Systers Open Source and AnitaB.org Open Source? A: We rebranded from Systers Open Source to AnitaB.org Open Source in 2020. GitHub projects that were active or still needed development have been moved to github.com/anitab-org.
Q: Are we still using Systers-open source on Slack? A: Nope, we moved to Zulip - AnitaB-org.zulipchat.com and anyone who was in our Slack was invited to the new workspace.
Q: Why did we move from Slack to Zulip? A: Here are some reasons:
- Private Messages were disabled.
- Minimum age required to be on Slack is 16 years, which excludes our Google Code-in Participants.
Q: Are the Admin 1:1 meetings open to everyone? A: No. The 1:1 Admin meeting is specifically only for admin and invited members. These may happen in accordance with our Code of Conduct.
Q: Does AnitaB.org Open Source qualify as a Google Developers Group, Women Tech Maker, any other developer community? A: No. AnitaB.org Open Source is a separate open source community which is not qualified for Google Developers Group or Women Tech Maker. Our community mainly focuses on providing opportunities to anyone to get involved in open source projects aligns with AnitaB.org missions and values.
Q: Where should I post about general questions? A: If you have any questions on where we need help, reach out in #questions or #newcomers or #general streams on our Zulip community. You can also attend one of the open sessions, they are updated in #announcements > Calendar Events.