Apply for contributions CVS access

When applying for a Drupal Contributions CVS account your application will be reviewed by one of the Drupal.Org CVS administrators. In order to progress your application the administrator will assess the application based upon the motivation message you supply.

The main features of that motivation message that assist the administrator are details of your proposed contributions. For example:-

• Module contributions: If you wish to contribute a new module to Drupal.Org and the wider community please provide as much detail as possible regarding your modules functionalty and what new features the module will offer end users.
  

  Additionally, please provide a link to where your module can be downloaded in case a review is required. Not providing a link may well result in an automatic denial of your request for a CVS account.

  It's important to note that CVS applications are often denied when an tendered module duplicates the features and functions of an existing module and in these cases applicants are referred to the module's maintainer to offer collaboration on improving that existing module.

• Theme contributions: If you wish to contribute a theme please ensure your motivation message includes links to either (or both) screenshots of your intended theme contribution or a working demonstration site that uses your theme.

If you are applying for a CVS account because another module maintainer has agreed for you to become a co-maintainer of their module (or to take over the module completely), please ensure this agreement is publicly available by creating a issue in the project's issue queue that clearly shows the current maintainer agreeing to that fact. Under this condition just stating this in the motivation message alone is insufficient for your application to be progressed. Once you have created the issue and the current maintainer has commented on it please don't forget to place a link to that issue in your motivation message to make the CVS administrators lives a little easier.

More than 80% of all current CVS applications currently go through a dialogue whereby the CVS adminsitrator attempts to clarify the potential applicant's intended contribution. This is directly due to poorly written motivation messages and/or obvious duplicatory contributions. Well written motivation messages help to cut down this overhead so please be verbose when applying.

As a general rule of thumb if you motivation message is similar to "Drupal rocks and I want to give back to the community!" or other single line type motivation message then please don't be shocked when your application is declined (and yes, unfortunately that is a very common motivation message!).

Here is a list of common motivation messages that, more often than not, get declined/rejected. If your motivation message resembles one of these then please, think before applying.

1. I would like to fix bugs I find as I go or add new features to existing modules. The correct way to leave feedback for a module is to use the patch issue/queue system. And, in fact, for Drupal Core, this is the only way. Please note, this motivation message is appearing in more and more CVS applications and given the administrive overhead of engaging applicants via email, future CVS applications incorporating this will be declined on the basis that you didn't read this page.

2. Module 'Foo' no longer appears maintained so I have written a new version I would like to contribute. Realistically this forms duplication and Drupal.Org tries to avoid this where possible (see the previous link for why this is so). The best way forward in this situation is to provide feedback to the module with patches rather than strike out afresh. If the module appears abandoned and patches sit by without review of commit, use the Webmasters to ask to take over an orphaned module.

3. Module 'Foo' is just too complex so I have written a much simpler version. This is just straight duplication of functionality and applications like this will almost certainly be declined. It is worth remembering that many modules start out simple also and, over time, grow into more complex systems. If you have the know how to write a "simple version" from scratch rather than work out how a complex module works then maybe your effort would be better spent making the existing complex module easier to use (improve it's UI, write documentation, etc).

4. We want a CVS account to be able to deploy directly from CVS. A CVS account is not required for deployment. All projects, themes, modules, etc are available via anonymous CVS. See http://drupal.org/repos for more information.

Recently, module submission reviews have pulled up a number of similar problems for people trying to acquire a CVS account. It's almost become an CVS Applications FAQ so here's the list of the most common comments made after a review:-

1. Your module shows no hint of Coding Standards. Although sticking hard and fast to the standards is not an absolute requirement, plain sloppy and poorly presented code is. Try to follow the standard if at all possible and try to make the code clean and readable. If a CVS Administrator is having a hard time reading your code it's likely a lot of others will too. Remember, by placing your code on drupal.org you are letting the World see your code. Impress people with not only it's awesome functionality but it's cool under-the-bonnet style too!
2. Your module outputs a lot of HTML but there's not a theme function in to be found in the code anywhere. Those people around the world who theme really won't be your friend if they are forced to use your module.
3. Your module has a lot of string literals but not a hint of t()?
4. Some security advice. One of the first checks is to count how many times you have used check_plain() and how often %d appears in you module. Zero for either of these means your module is going to see more scrutiny. You are strongly advised to make sure you have read Writing Secure Code
5. Your module pulls in a lot of JavaScript code in-line without a hint of jQuery involvement. Try to use jQuery to play nice with all the other jQuery code running on end users sites.

In short, spend some time on your motivation message and read the guidelines on the application form iteself before hitting the Request CVS account button.

Finally, if you have applied for a CVS account and been declined with a message referring you to this page, please do not reply to the email with more information. You must re-apply again as the motivation message is stored for future reference. Simply replying to emails does not update the stored motivation message.

Once you are ready use this link to apply for a CVS account.