This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Raghav
Don’t be a foolish
I know most people follow some great influencers. Wait let me put this another way :p Every influencer builds a set of people to follow them. This holds true across industries including ours software engineering. Influencers want attention. They want you hooked.
And truth be told, a lot of us are just… there for the taking. Like prey. You might be asking, “Why are you even talking about influencers?” Simple: don’t be a prey. Don’t get hooked just because someone told you to. Take what you want not what they want to sell.
Let me give you a small reality check, People have rushed into open source just to get goodies. Or to show off a contribution. Or flex open sourcing. And hey, I get it competition is tough. So now the real question is How do you stay smart and still stand out without losing yourself? Let’s move to the next part.
Be a gentlemen
We just saw what’s messed up. Now let’s flip that. Let’s talk about how to contribute meaningfully. And yeah, be one among the smart folks without acting like you know everything.
You think making changes to the codebase is the only way to contribute? That’s where most people go wrong. Open source isn’t just about pull requests. Let me break it down.
1. Replace your paid software with open source alternatives
Start with what you use every day phone, laptop, browser extensions, editors. You’ll be surprised how many open source tools are out there doing the job better than the paid ones.
For example: Instead of using some heavy VPS management dashboard, switch to something like Nixopus which is open-source, self-hostable, built by folks who understand what pain means. You’re not just saving money here. You’re supporting real engineers building real tools for the community.
2. Now that you’ve switched, show some gratitude
You replaced it. You’re using it. The least you can do? Star the repo. Maintainers don’t see your thank you tweets. But they do see stars. You didn’t pay for it. You didn’t file bugs. You didn’t contribute. At least star it?
It’s a simple way of saying :
3. If you’ve got money, don’t pay but sponsor
Yeah, I said it wrong. You’re not paying anyone. You’re sponsoring the effort. Projects have recurring costs. Time is money. And if you believe in the tool, why not put in a small amount every month? It doesn’t have to be big. Just enough to say, “I care.”
4. Spread the word
If you found something amazing, don’t keep it to yourself. Send it to a friend. Drop it in your dev Discord. Write a LinkedIn post. Tweet about how it helped you. We all love that little high when someone goes “thanks for suggesting this” right? Give others that chance too.
5. Found a bug? Got an idea?
Okay now it’s time to open GitHub or GitLab. But please don’t be that person who opens an issue like:
Follow the ISSUE_TEMPLATE if not found then do this:
- Define the problem
- Add the context
- Share the steps to reproduce
- Mention your environment
- Suggest a solution if you have one
If it’s a feature, explain what you’re trying to do, and how this feature would help. Don’t just drop a one-liner and disappear. That’s worse than not reporting at all.
6. Know how to fix it? Do it right.
Let’s say you understand the issue and you have time to fix it. Here’s what you do:
- Check the labels (
good first issue,help wanted) - Make sure no one else is already on it
- Look at the project board or discussions
- Read the contributing guide
- Set it up locally, follow formatting + linting
- Run tests if they exist
Then create a clean PR with a clear title and message: Fix: Prevent Wizard Crash on First Login This PR adds a cleanup step to fix the onboarding crash issue. Ask for a review. Be open to feedback. Fix if needed. Wait calmly and boom, your code goes live. How cool is that?
You just followed the ideal path
Let’s pause and Look at what you just did You didn’t jump in just to rack up issues.You weren’t chasing a t-shirt or a contributor badge. You actually used the software, saw what was missing, felt where it hurt. You didn’t throw in a fix blindly rather you understood the context, took the time to figure things out.
This wasn’t about proving anything to anyone. No influencer told you to. No hype pulled you in. You did it because it made sense. Because the problem felt real. And because somewhere deep inside, you knew you could help.That’s the difference. That’s what makes it genuine.
Don’t know where to start? Here’s Nixopus
Check out Nixopus a modern, open-source VPS manager built for people who are tired of SSH’ing into every damn server just to restart a container or serve static files. It comes with everything you wish your hosting panel had from Docker support and TLS setup to a file manager, built-in terminal, and basic monitoring, all in one clean, self-hostable interface. Whether you’re managing a single server or juggling ten, it makes the whole thing a lot less painful.
And yeah, if you find a bug, or want to improve it, now you know exactly how to go about it.
Final words
Look open source isn’t a popularity contest. It’s a playground for creators, fixers, dreamers, and builders. Be intentional. Be helpful. Be respectful. You don’t need permission to start. Just don’t be a foolish.
Got thoughts? Share them. Got a story? I’d love to hear how you started with open source.
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This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Raghav