Chapter 8. Becoming a GNOMEr

Table of Contents
How do I join the GNOME movement?
I am a programmer, and I want to help, what can I do?
How do I get the bleeding edge, CVS versions of GNOME?
I want bleeding edge GNOME, but I can't use CVS. How do I get it?
How do I get an account to let me contribute to the CVS version of GNOME?
Why are directories sometimes missing when I update a module from CVS?
I am not a programmer, how can I contribute?

General information on getting more involved with the GNOME Project.

How do I join the GNOME movement?

If you want to get seriously involved with GNOME, you really have to join the gnome-list mailing list (See Mailing Lists, above). Check the list of mailing lists to see what other lists interest you. Also, make sure you read the GNOME Manifesto at http://www.gnome.org/about/manifesto.shtml and the articles on the GNU Project Philosophy at http://www.gnu.org/philosophy to make sure you know what kind of project you're getting involved in. You don't have to agree with all of the philosophy in order to contribute to GNOME, but at least respect that some of us are committed to the ideas given in these documents.

Since GNOME is a software project, we obviously can always use more programmers, but you don't have to be a programmer to help out with GNOME. We also can always use more people sending in clear bug reports. There is always more documentation to be written. If you speak more than one language, we can always use translators, both of the documentation and of the labels, buttons and menu entries within the applications. People willing to make binary packages for their system are quite welcome, particularly if nobody else is making binaries yet for that system. People willing and able to mirror our WWW, FTP and/or CVS servers are enthusiastically encouraged to do so.