GirlScript Summer of Code 2020 Mentor Experience
Open Source has always been an amazing place to learn, collaborate, contribute and build new stuff. I guess GitHub is the best place to hangout for developers and the perfect platform to look for amazing projects, learn, teach and build experience in just about any skill that you can imagine, whether it’s coding, user interface design, graphic design, writing, or organizing.
I have contributed to many Open Source projects as a contributor but being a mentor in an Open Source program is something different. I was selected as a mentor in GirlScript Summer of Code(GSSoC) 2020 for the project Water Monitoring System and I am here to share my experience of helping the contributors to make contributions that count. I was responsible for mentoring the backend(Django) and documentation related issues and PRs.
GSSoC was not just an amazing opportunity for me but was also an awesome experience of getting to know a small family of like-minded Open Source enthusiasts- skilful participants, my fellow mentors and the project admin himself.
Here are some of the lessons that I learnt during this 3 months long journey as a mentor:
The more you read the more you’ll know:
Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t, and this is the very base of these Open Source programs as you learn and teach simultaneously working collaboratively. These help you grab the common mistakes and amend them or sometimes help you learn the better way to solve a problem. All in all, it’s a great place to get quality feedback, learn how to work in a team as a contributor and write better and optimized code.
There’s always a first time:
These Open Source programs are the treasure of the greatest and the weirdest ideas out there. There would be numerous scenarios where you have to do something you have never tried before, but there’s also the push that will help you learn new skills and even put them to work then and there.
You sometimes meet the top developers across the globe and you have that rare chance of understanding the way they do things, the DO’s and DONT’s of the community and the marks the learning edge for both participants and mentors in any Open Source program.
There’s a whole crowd out there:
The world is full of amazing and talented people. What might be a nightmare for you, might be a cakewalk for someone else. Open Source community can be the best group of people to help you here. It’s the ultimate team sport and if you play it right, you’re never going to be alone solving bugs and looking for new features. Even the smallest contribution matters here, even if it’s as small as a typo fix or just raising an issue.
It helps you understand and respect the contributions, questions, and concerns of everyone in the user base, regardless of technical skill or status in the group. Also, there’s another thing that needs further emphasis that there is plenty of work to be done on open source projects that don’t require coding, let it be the documentation or suggesting design.
The words matter:
Everything in Open Source happens through an exchange of words. Documentation, bug reports, discussion of implementation — everything is written out and your message must be easily understood. Lots of people can code, but not as many of them can communicate what they’ve done. Only a project well-explained and well-coded can make it through, otherwise, it may end up being the developer’s mess.
Good things take time:
Open source is a collaboration between many different people with many different priorities and sometimes, you got to wait until the right time. The other people working on a project likely have very different lives than you do, and their priorities may not match up with yours. Work projects, vacations, and family are some of the most common things that can push back a response to your needs and patience is the best way to deal with it. Since great things are worth the wait, never mind the delay.
And here’s the burst of joy:
The coolest aspects of Open Source involvement are certainly making things for others. The satisfaction that you create code that benefits the community is enthralling!!! It’s an incredible way of giving back to the community and perhaps the reason I adore Open Source so much.
GSSoC was an exciting and awe-inspiring journey for me and as it comes to an end, I would like to appreciate each and everyone who was a part of it. I learnt a lot technically and otherwise from both my fellow mentors and participants and am grateful to Vinit Shahdeo for being the constant support and motivation for all of us.
That’s all for this article. Looking forward to the next season of GirlScript Summer of Code and hoping to see a lot of new faces there. Happy contributing!!!
Also, read the following Quora answer to know more about what makes this project beginner-friendly and good to start with:
If you enjoyed reading my way through Open source then do let me know your views in the comments. In case you want to connect with me, follow the links below:
