To my shame, sometimes I write the headline of a draft of a post weeks before actually finish it. I'd actually planned to change it, but basically spaced it during my furious 2AM writing session. Please note I didn't submit it to HN or anything, and I typically bristle at linkbait headlines.
But if there's any meat to the "myth" moniker, it's in the growing notion that culture can be cargo-culted by bringing in no-track vacation policies or nerf guns.
Thanks for taking the time to share this, bluesmoon. It's an excellent counterpoint with a broader perspective than my post.
I've learned a lot about this over the past couple of days just from the comments here, on Twitter, and on my blog.
A lot of it has been just learning not to lump all of "open source" into one big scary thing, but to find the smallest unit of work you're capable of doing, and to find a project with a supportive team who will be patient with you.
I think you are owed some of the credit for this story, as George found a project where his contributions are valued and the maintainers were patient with him.
For me, so far, this has been BDSM with Wayne E. Seguin, who goes WAY above and beyond to nurture this kind of environment for his projects and encourage contribution.
Thanks for sharing this. I think open source would have a lot more activity if newbies like me had George's persistence and maintainers had your patience.
Yeah, I understand and empathize with your viewpoint. I wrote the article and felt like the detractor captured some of the weaknesses I possess that led to its writing.
If you want people to show you how to contribute to open source, be an internet loudmouth and complain that you don't know how to contribute to open source.
Seriously, these are amazing comments and I hope it's OK if I compile the best ideas into another post for others who are as adrift as I sometimes feel.
1. I'm too lazy to overcome the inertia of not knowing what to do next
2. I'm too scared of rejection or looking dumb
The resulting question is: is there an onus on the community to provide additional tools to help the lazy/scared people like me push through these barriers?
My opinion is "yes, within limits", but I would also understand if someone said "no".
But if there's any meat to the "myth" moniker, it's in the growing notion that culture can be cargo-culted by bringing in no-track vacation policies or nerf guns.