Open source

Check the contributing guidelines. This is more important than any advice. It should also tell you which branch to send your changes to and if bug reports or pull requests are welcome.

Check how often pull requests are being read, commented on, and merged. Make sure you understand how long it may take for a response so your expectations are met.

Pull requests

1. Fork the branch. If there's a test suite, run the tests before changing anything to ensure your environment is stable.

2. Create a pull request. Make your changes and write a good commit message. Push the changes to your fork. Create pull request from the repository. Writing a pull request is just as important as the code.

3. Review contributing guidelines again.

Reporting bugs

1. Describe the bug.

2. Include an image if appropriate.

3. Explain what changes are required to fix it.

4. If there are important, tech-y implementation details then I place them at the very end.

5. Review contributing guidelines again.

Handle criticism

Separate yourself from your pull request. Your code does not represent you. For example, you may not be familiar with design patterns used elsewhere in the project.

It's okay to say no if the change requires more changes than you imagined to and you don't have time for it. We're all volunteering our time here.