Wagtail is an open source Content Management System built off Django. It also happens to be the project I gave a shot at, during the Outreachy 2023 October contribution phase. Wagtail is my first ever experience with contributing to open source, and here are a couple of things I have learned so far:
- There's a whole lot more to git than pushing, pulling, and committing. One of the first things I learned from the mentors was how to rebase my commits into more logical units.
- I have learned about setting remotes for my git repositories for different purposes.
- There is value in good communication. Your problems get solved quicker when people understand you better.
- If you can reproduce problems that other people face, you can probably fix them too.
- It's important to be thorough with documentation. Documentation has the answers almost all the time.
- Automated tests are the backbone of every good project. The more the merrier. They are also exciting to write.
- There's never a need to go all the way alone. Allow people to help you, and also try your best to help people. That's the whole point of it all.
- Do not neglect the basics. A good understanding of simpler concepts helps. When you get stuck, strip down your problems to the basics, and you might find your solution there.
- It's okay to feel overwhelmed. Everyone gets this feeling. Getting started is often the hardest part. Soon after that, you'd find yourself finishing.
- Remember your 'why'. Your reason for contributing to open source is like a lamplight for when it gets dark. Periodically remind yourself of your 'why'.
- Persistence pays off. I've spent countless hours on problems and issues, but I keep knocking till I get answers. And you bet I will!
- People help because they want to, not because it's an entitlement of yours. Being nice and respectful is desirable in open-source communities.
- If any task looks or feels boring, it's because you haven't yet found a way to make it fun. Always try and have some fun, and you'll find yourself doing more.
- Write more. Seriously, write more.
With each passing day, I learn more useful things that I may not have learned while working on solo projects. I am subsequently going to write more on some of these individual lessons. For now, though, I'll keep it brief so I can get back to contributing 😁. I'm grateful for where I've gotten so far, and I cannot wait to see where this voyage takes me.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you received some motivation to contribute to open source. And if you're already doing that, I hope this post brought back some good memories of your first time at it.
Cheers.
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