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Line 31: == Step 2: Researching Projects == Once you've got at least 31 ~~projects~~project on your list, it's time to start researching ~~them~~. (It's great to have more than 1 -- you might find that the first project you pick isn't a good fit for you.) For each of them, you need key information, including: * website url Line 40: * installation guide Write this information down as well. ~~There's a section for this in the template etherpad.~~ Every project will not have every item, but you should look for all of them. Sometimes the url will be the same for multiple items - for instance, the contributor guide and installation guide may be part of the same document. You can write down any other relevant information or links you find as well. (If you want an example, look at the template Etherpad document, but a bulleted list is fine.) Some advice: The simplest way to find the project's main website is to google it. A well maintained project will have links from the website to their source code repository, issue tracker, mailing lists and IRC channel. Sometimes this information will all be bundled together in a “developer guide”. Larger projects may have multiple mailing lists for different people (developers, users, translators, etc) and for different parts of the project. Some code hosting services, such as Github, provide issue trackers as well. You can usually find a link to the issue tracker in the code repository and vice versa. Popular services include Github, Google Code, Bitbucket, SourceForge and Gitorious. Popular issue tracker services include Bugzilla, Github, and Google Code. Line 59: Every project is made up of individuals, and this means that each project has a different atmosphere or culture. You can read through their mailing list archives, or lurk on their IRC channel (or read their channel logs, if available) to see how newcomers are treated. When people have questions, are they answered patiently or ignored? Are the community members friendly with each other, and talk about things other than the project? If that's a dynamic you like, you can search for it. One thing to look for are codes of conduct. A lot of smaller projects don't think to have them, but many larger projects do, and you can get a sense of the kind of community a project has by seeing what kind of behavior they tolerate and what they discourage. === Is the project the right size for me? === Projects vary greatly in the size of the community and in the size of the project itself. Ask yourself what size project you are looking for. Each has its advantages. For instance, a larger project will likely have more and better documentation, while a smaller project will have fewer elements to learn about. A larger project may have more people who can help you, but it may be easier to get lost in the crowd. == Step 4: Contacting Projects == Line 91 ⟶ 95: That's it! You're done with the activity. A quick note: you might wonder why we asked you to find ~~at least three~~multiple projects. The truth is that finding a good open source project is a lot like dating or finding a job. It often doesn't work out on the first try. That doesn't mean you're a bad contributor or that the project is a bad project - it may just be a bad fit, or bad timing. So keep an open mind, and keep trying projects until you find one that you really enjoy contributing to. One more thing: we'd love to see your worksheet for this activity! We want to see how people are using it so we can improve it. You can send it to us (anonymously or not) at hello@openhatch.org.