There has been a major project underway to create a new book focusing on getting people more involved in Drupal. It is designed to *help* people and teach them how to get help by helping others too. You can see the outline and links to the section issues at http://drupal.org/node/281873. (This will eventually get an alias and be the main landing page for the Contribute tab in the navigation, once we get it finished.)

It is currently titled "Contributing to Drupal" but there has been concern that we need to find a name that will draw people in. Most new folks will not feel like they can contribute yet and may avoid a section so titled. I'm not sure what is the best route to go on this so let's brainstorm and see what we can come up with. Sort of a "Get help and give" kind of thingy.

Another suggested name is "Getting the most out of Drupal."

Comments

rcross’s picture

rcross commented

Getting Involved?

mroswell’s picture

mroswell commented

I like:
"Contributing to Drupal (All skill levels welcome)"

michelle’s picture

michelle
she/her
Primary language English
Location Wisconsin, USA
commented

Funny, I was just thinking the other day that "contribute" sounds like a place to donate money. I think a rename would be good but don't have a suggestion off the top of my head.

Michelle

rcross’s picture

rcross commented

Something regarding "participation" i.e. "participating in drupal" or "Drupal Community Participation" ?

fwiw, I'd like to see some sort of reference in the support section about offering it back. I find when I tell people to try answering a few questions while they wait for someone to answer their own, they tend to jump in - even if only for a short time. Which also encourages them to get more involved over time.

Also - this is the first I've heard of this project and I'm trying to find a bit of background or reasoning behind it. On the first look it seems like a great idea and resource, but I wonder how this relates to the current "developing for drupal" docs? It seems like it might be better to point to provide some more context/landing-page type material in this book but then point to the CVS docs and other stuff in the devel docs. Or am I misunderstanding and this is supposed to take the place of the devel docs?

add1sun’s picture

add1sun commented

The discussion on this started back at DrupalCon Boston and the outline and planning was done on the Documentation mailing list (http://drupal.org/mailing-lists), along with a few IRC meetings that were posted to the list.

The idea for this book does not replace the dev docs, but will consolidate information on how to contribute into one book that is hopefully easy to follow for people new to the project. It is not just about contributing through development and so while there is a chunk of the new book about that, there are also entire sections that have nothing to do with "development." The Developer docs book will continue to focus on how to code with Drupal. The new book will have a section on how to contribute through code. There is a distinct difference and the information on CVS is more applicable to contributing than to doing your own development work so it serves a greater purpose to be moved into the Contributing area and be referenced from the Dev docs. So, that's the gist of the idea. I hope I explained it so it is clearer but feel free to ask more questions (though preferably on the mailing list so we can keep this issue on topic).

Oh, and yep the entire idea of the help/support section is to show people how to get *and give* help. And to point out that helping others is one of the best ways to learn and get help when you need it.

Thanks for the feedback on the name. Great to see some good idea bubbling up.

add1sun’s picture

add1sun commented

I looked around at other OS projects and there seems to be a two most commonly used phrases:

Getting Involved
Community Portal

I much prefer Getting involved or Participate since they are actions.

mroswell’s picture

mroswell commented

"Getting Involved" is perfect.

zirvap’s picture

zirvap commented

+1 to "Getting Involved"

"Participate" is also OK.

If I saw the heading "Getting the most out of Drupal", I'd expect to find information about advanced website construction and maintenance -- performance, fancy theming, stuff like that. So a -1 to that one.

brenda003’s picture

brenda003
she/her
commented

I like Getting Involved. Another idea is "Giving Back to Drupal".

webchick’s picture

webchick
she/they
Primary language English
Location Vancouver 🇨🇦
commented

Oh, I like "Giving Back to Drupal!" :) Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

However, when I described the book to my wife and asked her opinion, she said for new users "Getting Involved" would be more intuitive, so we should probably go with that, esp since that's what Ubuntu and other projects call it. Also, people might see "Giving" and think "Money."

Can we put something about, "Getting involved is the way for you to give back to Drupal" in the http://drupal.org/handbooks listing under the title, though? :)

add1sun’s picture

add1sun commented

Well, I think part of the feeling though with the title is that we want to "lure" people in, in the sense that they can get help as well as getting it, which is why we wanted to steer clear of a strong "only enter here if you want to give us stuff". Many people won't even check it out if they feel that they have nothing to give to start with. I think that Getting Involved doesn't sound like there is as much "pressure" on someone.

We'll definitely have a nice little explanation of what the section is that makes it clear it is a place to give back and learn.

brenda003’s picture

brenda003
she/her
commented

That's true, actually. I still feel like "Getting Involved" doesn't really pull a person in. Get involved? Pah! Why? But I can't think of anything short and sweet that might work.

"The Road to Rockstardom"!! I jest, I jest.

Okay, but seriously... Getting Involved is good.

Anonymous’s picture

Anonymous (not verified) commented

+1 on "Getting Involved." And I agree that "Contribute" and "Giving" can put people off by seeming to imply "Fork over some money."

Still, giving money is one way to get involved, so I suggest adding it as the last item on the outline at http://drupal.org/node/281873.

Cordially,
O Govinda
www.jswami.info

webchick’s picture

webchick
she/they
Primary language English
Location Vancouver 🇨🇦
commented

"Make Friends and Influence Drupal" ;)

cozzi’s picture

cozzi commented

I'm more of the marketing type - you need to reel people in to take a quick peak then the first thing they read must calm the "non-coder" type. So - how about something like this:

Drupal Rocks - Give a little, get a lot (A must read for the first time user)

Then, on the first page state this right up front-

Drupal is a community project and the power and features that Drupal has delivered thus far is just as much attributed to none software developers as it is to the hardcore coding geniuses that write code and create the vast array of modules that power Drupal. So, we urge you to start using Drupal as soon as possible then please remember to return to the community on occasion with your input. If you've done something creative or figured out a better to describe the implementation of something - post on Drupal.org, someone will surely benifit. Additionally you should also consider returning if you have ideas for improvements, support for other new Drupal users, and if you really take a liking to a specific feature or module - let the developer know your feelings and offer support at what ever level you can (testing, documentation, answering questions for new users of that module, etc.) It may seem small, but even a few minutes of input from you helps the entire community, and you can always be assured that what ever question you have bouncing around in your head (or solution that you've created) someone else has either asked, thinking about asking or wishing they had the answer for.

So, "Give a little and get a lot", because collectively the Drupal community is extremely strong and growing stronger each day a new user decides that Drupal is their CMS solution.

Non-coders - click here (Simple step by step instructions of how to get the most from Drupal)

Coding geniuses - click here (The deep and dirties of the power of drupal (at the code level.) I couldn't even begin to guide you on this one - but I'm sure there are ones that could.

Some where in the middle - click here (This may create too much work, so you could opt to leave this out.)

trevortwining’s picture

trevortwining commented

The Drupal Do-ocracy Citizen's Handbook?

jbrauer’s picture

jbrauer commented

I like Getting Involved well enough to live with it but keep searching for something I'd like better... Chewing on Community or Drupal Community at the moment wondering if those sorts of things won't bring in more of the curious who can then discover how easy it is to participate in the community.

add1sun’s picture

add1sun commented
Title: Name for the new Contributing book » Description for Getting involved on landing page

OK, so as agreed in IRC and as the most popular in this thread, we'll name it "Getting Involved."

We can "explain" it in one short paragraph on the landing page. Changing this issue to reflect that task. We need a concise para that will get people to check the book out. ;-)

Noyz’s picture

Noyz commented
Component: Misc » Correction/Clarification

Changed the component to reflect the new component categorization. See http://drupal.org/node/301443

leehunter’s picture

leehunter commented
Status: Active » Fixed

Seems like this has been resolved.

Status: Fixed » Closed (fixed)

Automatically closed -- issue fixed for two weeks with no activity.