3.1. FOSS Technical Basics
This section will provide learners with basic knowledge of technical and communication tools most often used in open source projects.
Format
- Complete readings and activities on this topic.
Prerequisites
Have completed previous 3 modules
We Can Code It — CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 by Charis Tsevis
- Command Line Confidence
- Assignment: Command Line Basics
- Communication Tools & Trends
- TODO norms of open source comms and add IRC tutorial link
- Assignment: Communication
Command Line Confidence
If you are not yet familiar, or comfortable with using command line tools, this section is not only important for your open source goals, but key enabler of confidence and effectiveness in your early steps.
Assignment: Command Line Basics
- Complete one of the following:
- Learn The Command Line - for those with Linux of Macs who want to learn command line on their own machines.
- Code Acadamy’s ‘Your First Command Line’.
Communication Tools & Trends
Historically open source projects lean on tools like IRC and mailing lists, Mediawiki and forums like Discourse (which is open source) for communication and tracking documentation.
Additionally, communities are starting to experiment with other communication norms. More often we are seeing tools like Rocketchat, Mattermost, Discord and Gitter used as collaborative way of sharing workflows, with integrations for tools used within those communities.
There is some tension within the open ecosystem when tools that are not themselves open source are chosen, which if you completed the first module you’ll recognize that tension being tied to the Internet Freedom movement and accessibility. IRC, for example, is considered a non-accessible tool for many non-technical contributors.
Often communication solutions are no longer tied to a single platform. Instead, a web of tools are tied together via ‘bridges’ like Sameroom. While, other projects limit their discussions to issue trackers.
TODO norms of open source comms and add IRC tutorial link
Assignment: Communication
- Complete this IRC tutorial, and connect to one of these community IRC channels on Freenode to say hello.
- #openstack101
- #wikipedia
- #drupal
- #ubuntu
- For any project you’ve interacted with in earlier modules, or any 3 open projects selected from GitHub’s list of good projects for beginners answer the following questions:
- Where do people talk?
- How active are the communication channels where people talk?
- How many channels are available within a a project (are there channels for focused work? or new contributors?)
- How does the code of conduct apply to communication channels?
- Write a blog post on one of the following topics:
- My experience communicating with open source projects.
- Why or why not open communities like Creative Commons and Open Data should use a closed-source tool like Slack.