this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
159 points (88.0% liked)

Asklemmy

49201 readers
966 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
Cloak@lemmy.ml
mekhos@lemmy.ml
tmpod@lemmy.pt
14specks@lemmy.ml
159
If you don't have coding skills, why don't you help foss software by making it more user friendly instead? (lemmy.giftedmc.com)
submitted 2 years ago by haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
128 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Disclaimer

Not trying to blame anyone here. I‘m just taking an idea I‘ve read and spinning it further:

Intro

A lot of people use free open source software (foss), Linux being one of them. But a lot less actually help make this software. If I ask them why, they always say „I don’t have the coding skills!“.

Maybe its worth pointing out that you don‘t need them. In a lot of cases it’s better to not have any so you can see stuff with a „consumer view“.

In that situation you can file issues on github and similar places. You can write descriptions that non technical people can understand. You can help translate and so on, all depending on your skills.

Other reasons?

I‘d really like to know so the foss community can talk about making it worthwile for non coders to participate.

(page 2) 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] megane_kun@lemm.ee 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

It takes a certain kind of a skill set and experience to be able to translate this "consumer view" into something that can be acted upon by a developer.

Sure, the skill set can be developed, the knowledge (about software development, the available technologies, and having an idea of what is and isn't feasible in the first place) can be built up, and the experience (communicating with developers) can be accrued, but that really stops a lot of people from even thinking of contributing.

Perhaps a subset of the (open-source) community can help in developing these (skills, knowledge, experience) among interested people. Teach people how to look for issues, bugs, or come up with feature requests; teach them how to put these into a form that's easily understood and appreciated by the developers, and finally, teach them how to communicate with developers without losing the "non-techie user POV" which makes their feedback valuable in the first place.

IDK though, having read what I've just written, it seems to be quite a task.

[–] Donut@leminal.space 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It sounds like we need PM's to act as a liason between developers and end-users to bridge the difference in jargon and way-of-thinking.

I never thought I'd say having PM's were going to help. Ironic.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I think you are totally on the right track but yes, the task is massive. Thats why I asked. I‘m trying to help with making it happen. And asking questions is one way of doing so. :)

[–] megane_kun@lemm.ee 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yeah. And I'm just throwing what I think is a reasonable idea, but there's this nagging feeling I've got inside that goes "how can you be so sure no one's thought about it before? Maybe there's something more pertinent and basic that stops them from doing just that?"

[–] haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com 2 points 2 years ago

Totally relatable. I‘m asking myself the same. The answer is: as long as we dont ask, we wont get an answer, so here we are, asking questions. :)

[–] Xavienth@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Because FOSS devs think the "consumer view" is wrong and the software should correct it, not the other way around.

[–] haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com 2 points 2 years ago

I can see where you‘re coming from. That definitely needs to change.

[–] mnglw@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

because a lot of foss devs, contributers and even users are so extremely hostile when suggesting ux improvement/report bugs/etcetc for end users not like them that frankly I dont wanna bother. Same reason I don't report bugs

maybe first tackle that situation before you ask people to throw themselves into what effectively is a lion's den to mauled by fossbros who can't get over themselves

[–] haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

No. First I ask people for feedback and the feedback you‘re giving now is important and valuable. Thank you for that.

I‘m not asking peeps to do anything. I ask why not. Then I take that feedback and try to implement it. :)

Have a good one.

[–] mnglw@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

you're right, I kinda let past experiences cloud my judgment for a bit there, and missed that you were doing the right thing,my apologies for that

sadly the fact that I did does point to the very problem I described.

that said I hope you can get somewhere and improve things, my apologies for the mix up

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] bear_delune@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I have a background in Games, UX, Service and Product design and I would really like to contribute to FOSS projects but have no idea how to

I’m unfamiliar in the etiquette of GitHub and how I could contribute my skills

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments
view more: ‹ prev next ›