From: David Albert <davidbalbert@...>
Date: 2012-06-24T07:00:44+09:00
Subject: [ruby-core:45814] Re: How can I contribute?

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Thanks for the kind words Ammar. I'm going to keep investigating 5776 and
see where it leads me. If anyone else has any tips or anything they need
help with, I'm happy to help out however I can.

Best,
-Dave

On Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 8:05 PM, Ammar Ali <ammarabuali@gmail.com> wrote:

> On 6/23/12 12:19 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:
>
>> On 23/06/2012, at 2:39 AM, David Albert wrote:
>>
>>> Hello ruby-core,
>>>
>>> I've been using ruby as my primary language for two years now and I like
>>> it quite a lot. I'd like to start contributing back to it, but I don't know
>>> where to begin. Does anyone have any pointers as to where I can be helpful?
>>>
>> Don't bother. You can make all the contributions you want, but no-one
>> even responds
>> when you try to discuss them, or even to offers advice on how to proceed.
>>
>
> That is a very negative attitude, and it does not accurately reflect the
> reality. There are a lot of contributions made everyday, and they do get
> attention.
>
> My experience, minimal as it is, was very positive. It started with a need
> I had for something that ruby did not support (the Unicode Age property,)
> so I asked if this addition would be considered. I received a response,
> from a few people, including the maintainer, that it would, and that a
> patch would be welcome. I jumped on the opportunity, submitted a patch, and
> it was accepted.
>
> I think the best contributions are the ones that are driven by genuine
> need, and good understanding of a given problem, not that ones that are
> driven by the desire to contribute for the sake of contributing.
>
> If you have written extensions and gems, then I think that you have
> already contributed. But it doesn't have to be just code, there are many
> ways to contribute. You can contribute documentation, or improving the
> existing documentation. You can contribute by submitting bug reports, or by
> simply discussing proposed new features or features that strike you as
> awkward. Even fixing typos is a valuable contribution. It all adds up.
>
> In the case of the issue you mentioned, it would be better to ask more
> targeted questions about things you don't understand than it is to ask
> generally. As a first step, try to find out if the change was indeed
> intentional, and if so, why? That answer should help you with the next step.
>
> In any event, I didn't want the only answer you get to be "Don't
> bother"... please do. Anyway you can. I wish my schedule allowed me to,
> more often.
>
> Regards,
> Ammar
>
>
>

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Thanks for the kind words Ammar. I&#39;m going to keep investigating 5776 a=
nd see where it leads me. If anyone else has any tips or anything they need=
 help with, I&#39;m happy to help out however I can.<div><br></div><div>

Best,</div><div>-Dave<br><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Fri, Jun 22, 201=
2 at 8:05 PM, Ammar Ali <span dir=3D"ltr">&lt;<a href=3D"mailto:ammarabuali=
@gmail.com" target=3D"_blank">ammarabuali@gmail.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<b=
r><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:=
1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">

<div class=3D"im">On 6/23/12 12:19 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
On 23/06/2012, at 2:39 AM, David Albert wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Hello ruby-core,<br>
<br>
I&#39;ve been using ruby as my primary language for two years now and I lik=
e it quite a lot. I&#39;d like to start contributing back to it, but I don&=
#39;t know where to begin. Does anyone have any pointers as to where I can =
be helpful?<br>


</blockquote>
Don&#39;t bother. You can make all the contributions you want, but no-one e=
ven responds<br>
when you try to discuss them, or even to offers advice on how to proceed.<b=
r>
</blockquote>
<br></div>
That is a very negative attitude, and it does not accurately reflect the re=
ality. There are a lot of contributions made everyday, and they do get atte=
ntion.<br>
<br>
My experience, minimal as it is, was very positive. It started with a need =
I had for something that ruby did not support (the Unicode Age property,) s=
o I asked if this addition would be considered. I received a response, from=
 a few people, including the maintainer, that it would, and that a patch wo=
uld be welcome. I jumped on the opportunity, submitted a patch, and it was =
accepted.<br>


<br>
I think the best contributions are the ones that are driven by genuine need=
, and good understanding of a given problem, not that ones that are driven =
by the desire to contribute for the sake of contributing.<br>
<br>
If you have written extensions and gems, then I think that you have already=
 contributed. But it doesn&#39;t have to be just code, there are many ways =
to contribute. You can contribute documentation, or improving the existing =
documentation. You can contribute by submitting bug reports, or by simply d=
iscussing proposed new features or features that strike you as awkward. Eve=
n fixing typos is a valuable contribution. It all adds up.<br>


<br>
In the case of the issue you mentioned, it would be better to ask more targ=
eted questions about things you don&#39;t understand than it is to ask gene=
rally. As a first step, try to find out if the change was indeed intentiona=
l, and if so, why? That answer should help you with the next step.<br>


<br>
In any event, I didn&#39;t want the only answer you get to be &quot;Don&#39=
;t bother&quot;... please do. Anyway you can. I wish my schedule allowed me=
 to, more often.<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
Ammar<br>
<br>
<br>
</blockquote></div><br></div>

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