Ramón discusses how there is more to open source than just writing code. Non-code contributions such as documentation, blogging, issue triage, code reviews, answering questions, hosting events, localization, and more are essential for open source projects and communities to thrive. As code contributors, we can facilitate these non-code contributions by establishing inclusive communities, tagging issues clearly, setting up necessary infrastructure, and advocating for the community.

1. There's More to
Open Source
than Code
Ramón Huidobro
@hola_soy_milk

2. I’m Ramón.
(he/him)
From 󰎧, living in 󰎈
OSS DevRel Engineer at Suborbital
DevRel consultant
Developer Educator
Community member
Kids’ coding coach
Live streamer

5. https://distributeaid.org/

6. How do we contribute
to Open Source?

7. Code contributions

8. Code contributions

9. https://github.com/freeCodeCamp/freeCodeCamp

10. So let’s talk about
Non-Code
Contributions

11. Any contributions
that don’t involve
writing code.

12. They’re amazing,
they’re essential, and I
recommend doing
them

13. But why?
I can just write code!

14. There’s more
to Open Source
than Code

18. No really, why?

19. Getting out of the
comfort zone

20. Helping a Project Thrive

21. Meeting Fellow Members

22. Improving Onboarding

23. What are some types
of non-code
contributions?

24. Documentation

25. https://github.com/distributeaid/distributeaid.org/

26. https://contribute.freecodecamp.org/

27. Blogging

28. https://ramonh.dev/ruby/rails/2015/06/09/lets-make-our-first-rails-app/

29. Trying stuff out

31. Issue Triage

32. https://github.com/distributeaid/distributeaid.org/issues

33. https://www.kubernetes.dev/docs/guide/issue-triage/

34. Code Reviews

36. Answering Questions

37. https://stackoverflow.com/a/66971645

38. Volunteering at
Events

39. https://ruhrjs.de/

40. Localising

41. Hosting
Conferences/Meetups

42. https://www.meetup.com/vienna-rb/

43. Hosting/facilitating
Hackathons

44. https://distributeaid.org/

45. Creating Assets

46. Giving Talks

47. https://ramonh.dev/speaking/

48. Video Content

49. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhU83qimXcA

50. Social Media

51. Content Curation

52. https://this-week-in-rust.org/

53. Project Coordination

54. Moderation

55. https://www.electronjs.org/community

56. Mentorship

57. As a code contributor,
what can I do to
facilitate these?

58. Establish an inclusive
community

59. Tag issues

60. Set up Infrastructure

61. Advocate for the
Community

62. Action Items
1. Identify problems
2. Map out solutions
3. Propose solutions (open
issues/PRs)
4. Circle back to future
contributions
5. Practise continued Open
Source Etiquette

63. Resources:
● Non-code Contributions at Kubernetes:
https://www.kubernetes.dev/docs/guide/non-code-contribu
tions/
● How to Make Non-Code Contributions:
https://navendu.me/posts/non-code-contributions-to-open-
source/
● My slides: https://ramonh.dev/non-code-contributions.pdf
● Open Source Etiquette: https://developer.mozilla.org/
en-US/docs/MDN/Contribute/Open_source_etiquette
● Working in Public: https://nadia.xyz/

64. Thank you,
friends!
Ramón Huidobro
@hola_soy_milk
hola_soy_milk