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MY JOURNEY TO GO

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ABOUT ME

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I SPENT MOST OF MY LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES

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I USED TO BE A PHOTOGRAPHER

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I MAKE GOPHERS

Lots and lots of gophers…

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ALSO, GOPHERIZE.ME

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THIS IS MY FIRST KEYNOTE

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ART & PIZZA

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THE DECISION TO CODE.

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TFW YOU GO TO A BOOTCAMPAND SUPER REGRET IT.

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ACCIDENTAL GOPHER

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BLAME STEVE FRANCIA

TWITTER: @SPF13

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NOBODY SUCCEEDS ALONE

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WE NEED PEOPLE TO BE INVESTED IN OUR SUCCESS

@GOINGGODOTNET@MATRYER@MARKBATES@DAVECHENEY@MBBROBERG@BRADFITZ@JBEDA@FRANCESC

@SPF13 @LITTLEIDEA@BKETELSEN@KELSEYHIGHTOWER@JESSFRAZ@KRISNOVA@ERIKSTMARTIN@CARLISIA

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JUST SAY YES.

WHAT’S THE WORST THAT COULDHAPPEN?

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CONTRIBUTING & ELIMINATING EXCUSES

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I’m not a very good programmer.“

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I don’t have a lot of time.“

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I don’t know what project to work on.“

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MYTH: YOU HAVE TO BE A PROGRAMMING WIZARD TO CONTRIBUTE

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THREE THINGS

Projects need contributions from people of all skill levels & expertise

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A SMALL CONTRIBUTION IS BETTER THAN NO CONTRIBUTION

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THE BEST PROJECT TO START WORKING ON IS ONE THAT YOU USE ALREADY.

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WHERE TO START

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WHAT ARE YOU GOOD AT RIGHT NOW?

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LISTENING

Listening is the best way to knowwhat the project needs.

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SHHHH... WE’RE LISTENING

IRC,REDDIT..

BLOGS

MAILINGLISTS

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1 2

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WORKING WITH TICKETS

Code is the heart of anyopen source project, butdon’t think that writingcode is the only way tocontribute.

Often bugs are fixed inthe codebase but ticketsreported about them don’tget updated in theticketing system.

Close fixed bugs2

Bugs are often poorlyreported. Diagnosing andtriaging a bug can helpsave developers time.

Diagnose a bug1

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WORKING WITH CODE

Programmers of allexperience levels canhelp with the code inthe project. Don’t thinkthat you have to be acoding genius to makereal contributions toyour favorite project.

This is normally wherepeople want to start.

Fix a bug2

Any project that’s designed torun on multiple platforms canhave all sorts of portabilityproblems.

Test a beta or releasecandidate1

Write a test

Moar tests, please.

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Add a comment

Are you confused? So issomeone else.

4

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DOCS, DOCS, DOCSIT’S AS THOUGH THIS MANUAL EXPECTS THAT I ALREADY KNOW HOW TO USE THE PACKAGE

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WORK WITH COMMUNITY

Open source is only partly about code. Community makes open sourcework. Here are ways you can help build it up.

If you’ve got ablog, write aboutyour experienceswith the projectthat you’re using.

Most programmersdon’t havedesign talents.

The best way tohelp build thecommunity is byhelping others.

WRITE A BLOG POST IMPROVE A WEBSITEANSWER A QUESTION

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PAY IT FORWARD GIVE MORE THAN YOU RECEIVE.

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DON’T BE TOO PROUD TO ACCEPT HELP WHEN IT’S OFFERED.“

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IT’S OKAY TO FAIL

WE ALL DO IT, AND ANYONE THATSAYS OTHERWISE IS LYING.

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WE ARE A COMMUNITY OF CODERS, BUT IF ALL WE DO IS CODE THEN WE'VE LOST THE COMMUNITY

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@ASHLEYMCNAMARA

THANK YOU