# Start contributing to open source

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/start-contributing-to-open-source/173422>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [August 8, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/start-contributing-to-open-source/173422 "2009-08-08T13:30:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![milandobrota](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@milandobrota](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/milandobrota)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/start-contributing-to-open-source/173422/1 "2009-08-08T13:30:32Z")

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I want to start contributing to open source. I aim at ruby, with or  
without rails.

1. What is the best way to find the right project? Github?
2. Is it better to work on something that has just started with  
development, or perhaps to submit patches for bigger projects?
3. What is the process like? If I like the project and want to  
contribute to, am I supposed to message the main developer first?
4. Do developers usually accept help?
5. Am I better off sticking with one project or contributing to many  
different ones?
6. Is it OK to ask the main developer questions about the project (both  
spec and implementation)?
7. Is it OK to ask the main developer questions about ruby/rails (or I  
should stick to forums)?
8. My free time varies a lot. Sometimes I have a lot of it, while  
sometimes I am very busy. Does contributing sporadically present a  
problem?
9. I like pair programming. Since I don’t have anybody to work with me  
at the moment, would it be a good idea to find another RoR developer  
online and work with him/her, help each other out and comment each  
other’s code? If that sounds good to you, let me know.
10. And do you guys have any interesting project you need help with?

Regards,  
Milan D.  
[http://milandobrota.com](http://milandobrota.com)

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**Author:** ![milandobrota](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@milandobrota](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/milandobrota)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/start-contributing-to-open-source/173422/2 "2009-08-08T13:55:37Z")

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It’s going to be tough to answer your whole list of questions, because  
open source projects vary so widely, as do their contributors. As a  
rule of thumb, I’ve found most projects are more than willing to  
accept help if you show them you can actually improve things.

One option for getting involved over the short term: this weekend is  
the Rails/RailsBridge BugMash, which can give you a taste of helping  
out with the Rails source code. Details are at

> **[Home](https://github.com/railsbridge/docs/wiki/)**
>
> Curriculum for RailsBridge workshops. Contribute to railsbridge/docs development by creating an account on GitHub.

On Aug 8, 6:30 am, Milan D. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)