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Ask HN: Best OSS Projects for Beginning Contributors

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Re: Ask HN: Best OSS Projects for Beginning Contributors

#31

Post by dkuntz2 »

veeti wrote: post #10
bitsweet wrote: post #6

Helpful ( http://helpful.io ). Ruby on Rails helpdesk software trying to make things like ZenDesk & Desk.com suck less. Github: https://github.com/asm-helpful/helpful-web . There is always a list of things to do ( https://assemblymade.com/helpful/wips ) and a community around to help. We also share the ownership (and profit) of the app between the contributors. Anybody is welcome to be "Helpful" and join in building…

This is not open source.

https://github.com/asm-helpful/helpful-web/blob/master/LICEN... ?

That looks pretty open source to me. It's not the most permissive license, but neither is the GPL...

Re: Ask HN: Best OSS Projects for Beginning Contributors

#33

Post by veeti »

dkuntz2 wrote: post #31
veeti wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not open source.

https://github.com/asm-helpful/helpful-web/blob/master/LICEN... ? That looks pretty open source to me. It's not the most permissive license, but neither is the GPL...

From their license:

> Any redistribution or use is for noncommercial purposes only and is not redistributed or used in connection with any application that is substantially similar to the Selected App Idea.

From the open source definition [1]:

> 6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor

> The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.

This is "visible source", not open source.

[1] http://opensource.org/osd

Re: Ask HN: Best OSS Projects for Beginning Contributors

#34

Post by Xdes »

meowface wrote: post #23
Xdes wrote: post #4

I'm terrible at open source because I usually fix things that don't need to be fixed (aka refactor). Then people yell at me to go away.

Every good open source project I've seen will happily accept and merge refactoring pulls, as long as the refactoring: -Actually makes the code cleaner. -Reduces redundancies. -Above all, actually results in there being less code than there was before. If you can achieve clean code + negative lines of code after a refactor, with identical functionality, they'd be fools to not merge it. It's possible the refactors you…

The project lead explained that he didn't accept unsolicited commits. My code ended up getting merged with some other guys refactored code which eventually made it into the code base.

Re: Ask HN: Best OSS Projects for Beginning Contributors

#36

Post by pc86 »

Xdes wrote: post #34
meowface wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every good open source project I've seen will happily accept and merge refactoring pulls, as long as the refactoring: -Actually makes the code cleaner. -Reduces redundancies. -Above all, actually results in there being less code than there was before. If you can achieve clean code + negative lines of code after a refactor, with identical functionality, they'd be fools to not merge it. It's possible the refactors you…

The project lead explained that he didn't accept unsolicited commits. My code ended up getting merged with some other guys refactored code which eventually made it into the code base.

> The project lead explained that he didn't accept unsolicited commits

Isn't that sort of contrary to OSS?

Re: Ask HN: Best OSS Projects for Beginning Contributors

#37

Post by dragonwriter »

pc86 wrote: post #36
Xdes wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The project lead explained that he didn't accept unsolicited commits. My code ended up getting merged with some other guys refactored code which eventually made it into the code base.

> The project lead explained that he didn't accept unsolicited commits Isn't that sort of contrary to OSS?

> Isn't that sort of contrary to OSS?

No, OSS is a licensing model not a development model. With OSS, if the existing project has a dev model you don't like, you can always fork it and start a project with a dev model you do; with proprietary software (even if the source is available), if you don't like the development model (among other things you might not like) you're, well, forked.

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