Public Lab is on Github at: https://github.com/publiclab
## First time contributors
New to open source/free software? Here are some resources to get you started:
http://www.firsttimersonly.com/
http://www.charlotteis.co.uk/making-your-first-pull-request/
A very in-depth guide: https://egghead.io/series/how-to-contribute-to-an-open-source-project-on-github
https://guides.github.com/activities/contributing-to-open-source/
On our [PublicLab.org GitHub repository](https://github.com/publiclab/plots2), we've listed some "good for first timers" bugs to fix here: https://github.com/publiclab/plots2/labels/first-timers-only
We also have a slightly larger list of easy-ish but small and self contained issues: https://github.com/publiclab/plots2/labels/help-wanted
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### Contributing for non-coders
Not interested (or not yet interested) in coding, but still want to help out? Have a project you really need to get your work done, and trying to encourage coders to tackle it?
You can still help out; in fact, **helping to clearly describe and document problems and new feature proposals is at least as important as writing the code itself**.
When creating or editing an issue, try to:
1. Clearly describe the problem, linking to pages where it can be observed, or where a new feature might live. Include screenshots to be very specific!
2. (for bugs) If you don't know the problem, do what you can to help others narrow it down: provide contextual information like your browser, OS, and what you were doing when it happened. Did it used to work? Does it still, but only sometimes? Help them reproduce it!
3. Propose a solution. Whether or not you code, describing what **should** or **could** happen, or even what you expected to happen is always helpful to someone looking to fix it. This can be as simple as "It should show a notification." or "There should be a way to hide it."
Once an issue is well documented, we can tag it with `help-wanted` to get the word out that we're looking for someone to try to fix it. If you're not sure if it's ready, ask [on the plots-dev list](#Sign+up)
Finally, if your issue is well documented, try to get involved in some outreach to new contributors to match someone with the project! Tell them what it'll help you achieve and why you'd appreciate help. And coordinate with the [plots-dev discussion list](#Sign+up) to get the word out.
### Preparing issues for newcomers
Related to the above, even if you are a coder, we need help "rolling out the red carpet" (as the [Hoodie project](http://hood.ie) calls it) for new contribtors, to grow our contributor base. The steps in [Contributing for non-coders](#Contributing+for+non-coders) are a good starting point, but as a coder, you can also deep-link to the relevant lines of code, with Github links and pointers like:
> Then the `:medium` in JavaScript on this line must be changed to `:large` too: https://github.com/publiclab/plots2/blob/master/app/assets/javascripts/dragdrop.js#L64
This is especially great for attracting coders who are not only new to our code, but new to coding in general! Again, please look to this as a good example of a `help-wanted` issue: https://github.com/publiclab/plots2/issues/329
For first time contributors, another thing you can add, shown in that issue, is a checklist outlining each step they'll need to do. This can be really helpful to someone who hasn't contributed to open source code before. It's also important that the bug or feature be relatively self-contained, so it's easier to tackle. Not every issue is a good fit for first-time coders.
If you go the extra mile to prep your issue for first timers, consider tagging your issue with `first-timers-only` and it'll be syndicated on Twitter and elsewhere via [FirstTimersOnly](http://www.firsttimersonly.com/). You might consider marking it with this introduction, too, since it takes some work to make these:
Hi, this is a `first-timers-only` issue. This means we've worked to make it more legible to folks who either **haven't contributed to our codebase before, or even folks who haven't contributed to open source before**. If you have contributed before, consider leaving this one for someone new, and looking through our general [help wanted issues](https://github.com/publiclab/plots2/labels/help-wanted). Thanks!
You can also take a look at [this post on the Hoodie project](http://hood.ie/blog/starter-issues.html) for some tips about what makes a great issue description for new coding contributors.
What if someone else created the issue, but you want to post a "tidied up" version with more clear documentation? Try creating a new issue and leaving a comment on the old one, something like "moving to #343 for a cleaner presentation of the issue". Then the old issue can be closed.
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##Google Summer of Code
Lots of development on Public Lab software happens as part of the GSoC program, supported generously by Google. Looking at the [GSoC Ideas list](/wiki/gsoc-ideas) is a great place to find projects which our community really needs to get done, whether or not you're in the program.
Read more at http://publiclab.org/wiki/gsoc, and review recent GSoC proposals/projects at http://publiclab.org/tag/gsoc
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###Installation videos
####MapKnitter