Re: Contributing

[Jambunathan K]

Sameer Rahmani <address@hidden> writes:

> Hi,
> My friend and i want to contribute to Emacs as much as we can. We want
> to contribute in development and translations.

If your patches are going to be any big, you may want to read the
"Copyright Assignment" section.

http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/CONTRIBUTE

Since you say that you are interested in translations, I am not quite
sure whether you are a developer or a user.

> I read in contributing documents that is better to post here first,
> where should we start? what we can do ? and is there any specific task
> or something?

May be you want to share a little more about yourself - your skills and
areas of interest. (Speaking of your areas of interest, think about how
you use Emacs yourself)

If you are unsure where to start, the most effective strategy is to pick
one area that you think needs improvement and improve it (As an Emacs
user, I believe you sure have some share of complaints).

The best way to attract attention your patches and ensure progress is
first to exhibit your wares (even if buggy and less than satisfactory)
and open it for criticism. Bonus points if your wares cannot be cooked
up trivially.

It's easier to find areas of improvement particulary in features that
are new, modules that are big or which have wider user base. You can
hang around in the following mailing list and see what catches your
attention:

Emacs Devel: 
   http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/

Emacs Bugs:
   http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-gnu-emacs/

Orgmode: 
   https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-orgmode/
Gnus: 
   https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/info-gnus-english/
Cedet-devel:
   http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?forum_name=cedet-devel

If you are unsure where to start you can start anywhere you like and
form opinions as you explore more. Remember, if you would like to
contribute purely for fun - you don't have to be bound by what people
ask of you. 

>From my own personal experience, I can say that contributing to Free
Software projects and sustaining your motivation levels require certain
discipline, clarity of thought and enough staying power etc.

Good luck with your efforts,
Jambunathan K.

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