Open Source is For Everyone: First Experience in Non-Code Contribution to Mautic during Hacktoberfest 2024

This year's Hacktoberfest felt different from my previous ones as a contributor. I was massively under the weather for the first two weeks of October, and my family and I had a week's vacation on the last week. Finding issues to work on took a toll on me, so I didn't expect to complete the Hacktoberfest. However, I did finish it with six accepted PRs!

I did something different this year from previous ones and will share it with you in this post.

First Experience in Content Contribution during Hacktoberfest

I recently learned about the WriteTech Hub community on X. It's a vibrant community that empowers technical writers through its amazing programs. Eager to connect and learn from other technical writers, I joined without hesitation.

As background, since last year, Hacktoberfest has allowed low- or non-code contributions because there are more ways to contribute to open-source projects that don't involve coding skills and technical knowledge.

For Hacktoberfest, WriteTech Hub partnered with some open-source organizations, including Mautic, an open-source marketing automation platform. Mautic offered many non-code issues, including content writing/editing and user documentation. After searching for an issue to work on, I claimed a content writing/editing issue. The assignment was to review and update the content on their website's "Communication Channels" page.

What I Learned From the Contribution

Canva

After asking questions and being sure what to do, I updated the content using Google Docs. Then, I had to create a mockup page. They have a Figma design for the layout and blocks, but I've never worked with Figma.

I've used Canva to create slides and cover images for my blog posts, so I chose Canva for this task. This was my first time using Canva for a mockup page, so I learned something new!

Active Communication and Asking Questions Can Never Go Wrong

Mautic is preparing its new website. As a new contributor, I'm curious about how they want the website to look and what updates they're considering for each page, particularly the one I was working with. So, I asked a question about it.

After I got a response from the maintainer, I dug into their community page on the website to learn more about it. Then, I researched how other communities structured their community pages, asked the maintainer more questions, and offered some ideas before I worked on any changes. I wanted to ensure I was on track with what they wished to have rather than assuming.

As I mentioned, I have never had experience working with Canva to create a mockup page. I asked the maintainer if they have an example of a mockup page in Canva. And they had one! If I hadn't asked, I would have been stuck trying to figure it out for days and lost my opportunity to submit the PR in time for Hacktoberfest.

Open Source is Truly For Everyone

We often hear that open-source contributions are about more than just code. Some contributions that are as important as code are documentation, creating content like blog posts or video tutorials, promoting open-source projects through social media, and many more.

Here's the fact: Most documentation requires a bit of code because most projects' documentation is written in Markdown or other languages. Contributors will work on these files locally on a text editor or directly on GitHub, push the changes, and create a PR. This workflow is quickly recognized in open source because PR creation is involved.

However, we must remember that a project can reach broader audiences and users with the power of strategic marketing and a strong community. This is where other contributions like content creation, promotion, and the rest come in. Some people with expertise in these kinds of contributions are from something other than tech. Although they may not have coding skills, their expertise is extremely valuable and needed. Now, the question is, how can we make open source accessible to them?

Mautic includes non-code contributions during Hacktoberfest. They accommodated the contributions towards total PRs. The way to do that was for contributors to create blog posts or write or update the content or documentation listed on their issues. Once it's done and approved, they can make a PR listing their name and the issue(s) they worked on.

Yes, people without a tech background still need to learn how to create a PR. However, they can make this kind of PR directly on GitHub without any text editor. The key is clear walk-through documentation to guide them in creating a PR.

Appreciation Can Go a Long Way

Contributors volunteer their time and skills to help out open-source projects. I learned along the way that one of many things that makes contributors stay in a community and continue to contribute is acknowledgment and appreciation of their efforts. This can be done through public or community shoutouts, swag giveaways, or other means.

Contributors contribute to an open-source project for many reasons. Some do so to learn new technology, some to apply or sharpen their skills, and some to showcase their contributions to finding a job. Those who are in job hunting can share the link to their issues and PRs on their resume. However, for those contributions that don't have PRs, a written appreciation or anything concrete they can show their future employer would be helpful for their journey.

At Mautic, at the end of the month, they make announcements, tag people who contributed to their projects on Slack, and post them on their blog. They also do giveaways as a form of appreciation.

I plan to contribute more to Mautic because I like the community. I really appreciate their patience and full support during my contribution.

Final Words

Open source is for everyone, regardless of their technical background. Any contribution that helps a project improve and is used by more people is priceless. It's unfair to say that creating issues and PRs are the only metrics to acknowledge a contribution. However, of course, it's a different case for Hacktoberfest. In the future, I hope more and more projects find ways to recognize and appreciate their contributors, especially the non-code ones.

Lastly, thank you to WriteTech Hub for the opportunity to participate in Hacktoberfest with the community. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Mautic community, particularly to Ruth Cheesley, for their support and for making my contribution experience enjoyable.