How can I help Linux?
This is a question often asked by Linux lovers who want to give it back to the community of GNU/Linux. Linux and Open Source both are heavily community oriented and if you think about helping Linux, it is indeed a sign of a real Linux lover. But this question is often accompanied by:
- I want to help, but I am not a coder
- I do not have enough free time to contribute
- I don’t know which project needs my contribution
At times, I have been asked to advise on how can a ‘normal Linux user’ help the Linux community. In this article, I am listing several ways a normal Linux user, who has been using Linux for a few months/years, could contribute to grow Linux user base and help the community. But before we see that, let’s first see why should you contribute to Linux.
Why should you help Linux?
Linux is 24 years old now. While Linux rules on supercomputers and servers, the desktop Linux still struggles. As per Net Market Share, Linux runs only on 1.68% of desktops. This is lesser than the market share of Microsoft’s disastrous operating system Windows Vista (which, for some reasons, still has 1.84% market share).
This is the condition when there are over 300 Linux distributions with a number of them being desktop focused. Linux was (and still) considered to be the “geek only” zone with the biggest misconception that one need to know the command line to use Linux.
Times have changed. Linux is a lot more user-friendly than what it used to be in late 90’s or early 2000. The chances for Linux to gain market share is now and you definitely could help in this cause.
How can you help Linux to grow?
There are a number of ways you could help Linux to grow. Note that when I say Linux, I am referring to desktop Linux here. It doesn’t matter if you are a computer science major or a programmer. Contributing through your computing skills is one way of helping Linux but there are many more ways. I am going to list several such steps, geeky and non-geeky both, you can take to help desktop Linux grow.
1. Share what you read
This is the least and the best you can do without needing any skills. If you have been using Linux for some time now, you might be reading about it and following news and tutorials about your favorite distribution and Linux in general. For example, I mainly use Ubuntu and I regularly follow the best blogs for Ubuntu. Now if you have some favorite blogs that you check regularly, start sharing the articles.
This will not only help the blog, but it may also get new visitors who could turn into uses. Someone in your network might be intrigued by the content you share and reading the article(s) eventually decide to try Linux herself/himself.
Also, sharing the contents help the blogs grow and for most of the bloggers, it is a motivating factor to write more. Now when I have said that, I am pretty sure you can tweet this :)
2. Report bugs
In software terminology is an error, a bug is an error or flaw in the software that might cause a crash or produce an unintended result.
Be it an application or the operating system itself, it is a piece of software and there is no software in this world which is bug-proof. No matter what level of quality assurance has been applied, there will always be bugs. These bugs are But how would the developer(s) of software know about the bugs unless you, the end user, reports it to them.
When you install an application, it will give you some hint about how to report bugs. Most of the time, you can get that link from the ‘about’ section of the apps. You can go to the link and report the bug.
You can read more on reporting bugs in Ubuntu here and in Fedora here.
3. Be a beta tester
While we are talking about bugs, how about beta testing an application or operating system? In software terminology, alpha and beta are the state of the software under development. Alpha is extremely unstable while beta is relatively more stable. It is followed by RC (release candidate), just before the final stable release.
Most of the operating systems and applications appreciate the beta testing by users. It enables them to know about the unidentified bugs and fix them before it is released for everyone. The more bugs the software has after the stable release, the lesser will be the user satisfaction.
So, if you can afford to have an unstable operating system or application, feel free to become a beta tester and report some bugs.
4. Join a forum and help others
I am repeating again. Linux is built around community collaboration. It will go as good as the community. So if you wish to go back to the Linux community, join various forums and try to help people.
All major Linux distros have their own forum. This is where people seek help and discuss features. Join the official and unofficial forums of your Linux distribution and try helping people, specially beginners because if beginners do not get enough help, they might quit Linux. You wouldn’t want that to happen, would you?
Now, you might say that you are not a Linux pro so how could you help others? You have a genuine concern here but you don’t need to be an expert. Just browse through various open forum threads and see if the problem reported by other user sounds familiar. If you had similar issue in the past, try to describe what you did. If you followed some blog article, provide the link. Even this helps people a number of times.
If you are an Ubuntu user, you should join the official Ubuntu Forums and Ask Ubuntu. You can also join several Google Plus communities where you can learn new things and will have the opportunity to hep others.
It’s FOSS started its own desktop Linux user Google Plus community this week. Feel free to join it.
Join Desktop Linux User Google Plus Community
5. Write blogs
If you have some time at your hand, why not start blogging about your desktop Linux experience? Share things you learned, troubles you faced and the steps you took to fix these problems. It may sound a lot of work but this is how I started into tech blogging with Computer And You in years 2010.
If you are worried about the costs of hosting and managing the blog, I suggest you to start a free blog at WordPress.com or Google’s blogger. You don’t have to pay a dime for the platform or hosting.
If you are an experienced blogger, try contacting the team of your favorite Linux distribution and see if they would like you on board in managing their blog.
6. Help financially
Have you noticed that most of the Linux distributions ask for donation before you download the OS? Of course, you can ignore the plea for donation and download the OS for free. But if you are a long time user of a particular Linux distribution or an open source software, I would advise you to donate.
It takes time and effort from the developers to maintain the distributions and software and continually providing new features. Some Linux distributions employ full time employees while some are supported by volunteers. In either case, money is needed or else the Linux distribution will go out of business like Mandriva Linux.
Similar is the case with Linux application developers. These open source software are available for free but the developers’ hard work can be (should be) appreciated financially. Often, Linux applications are developed as hobby or side project and over the time, the developer(s) loses interest in it.
Donation is one of the motivating factors that could push the developer to continue working on the software. The story of email encryption software GnuPG developer, Werner Koch, is the biggest example of why regular donations to open source projects is a must. No wonder that most of the applications have “donate” buttons on their websites.
In fact to help desktop Linux grow by helping open source application developers, I conceived my incoming project Open Envelope. I am trying to pitch it in coming start up exhibits. I’ll be updating about it in the newsletter. Meanwhile, you can visit the website to know more about it.
7. Disable ad blocker
Now that might sound ridiculous but here is the thing. If you cannot donate money to your favorite Linux distribution, open source software or blog, at least you can disable the ad block on their websites.
We all are habitual of putting ad blocker by default in our web browsers and that’s not entirely a bad thing. The world wide web is filled with hideous pop-up ads, adult, fraudulent and misleading advertisements and for this reason adding ad block is on my list of first few things to do after installing Ubuntu.
But at the same time, the blogs and websites rely on the income generated by the ads. So what’s the deal here? Do you block ads or not?
For me, the decision is fairly straight forward. I disable the ad block on the blogs and websites I visit regularly. I continue this practice not only on Linux blogs but all my favorite blogs, in any field. Unless I am bothered with pop-up ads or adult advertisements or too much of ads everywhere, I continue to unblock them. A practice you should try as well.
8. Join local Linux and Open Source groups
Look around you. There might be a group of GNU Linux enthusiasts. Join them and volunteer with them to grow Linux and Open Source community. Usually, universities and colleges have these groups to promote Open Source. Be in touch with them and see if you could help them in any way possible.
9. Translate
Have command over multiple languages? You can help in translating. Usually, Linux distributions and open source applications are in English (with several exceptions). You can help them by translating them in other languages. This way not only you help the distribution and/or software, you also help in spreading the distribution/software to non-native English speakers.
10. Fix a bug (developers)
Even if you are just learning to program as a student, fixing bugs could be a good practice to learn and understand. I am repeating again that Linux is community driven. If you could put your programming skills to good use, try fixing the bugs opened by your favorite Linux distribution and open source software.
In fact, you could earn some money by fixing bugs on websites like Bounty Source. elementary OS often put bounty on their bugs so that more people would be interested in fixing those bugs.
11. Develop an application for desktop Linux (developers)
Another one for developers. Have an idea on something but can’t find the app? Develop on your own.
It may sound outrageous, but you should know that huge number of applications helped in the success of iOS and Android. Newbie Linux users often complain about lack of applications and that is a fair complaint. So, what do we do about it?
Start developing applications is the answer. Ubuntu encourages app development with its Ubuntu Software Development Kit. You can start looking at its documentation and work on your idea. You can also search for open source projects on Github that are looking for contributors.
I would like to add here that my up coming project Open Envelope aims to address this issue as well.
12. Design the website (developers)
I have seen good looking Linux distributions with crappy looking websites. Often the developers and the managing team don’t pay attention to the look and feel of the website. It is 2015 and branding matters a lot. Leave aside branding, some Linux distributions have websites that look like they were made in early 2000.
If you have got the taste for looks and skills to design, make a concept and present it to the people managing the Linux distribution and see if they would like their website redesigned.
13. Handle the social media
If you are a pro at social media strategies or have experience in handling social media accounts such Facebook Pages, Twitter, Google Plus etc, volunteer yourself for handling the social media of your favorite Linux distro or Open Source application.
There are billions of people on social media, and social media is an important part of branding. While popular Linux distros like Ubuntu leverage social media effectively, some Linux distributions do not even have a single social media account. Some of them have social media accounts but they have not provided any updates for months or years.
If your favorite Linux distribution doesn’t have a Facebook page, create a community Facebook page for it. Do mention that it is run by fans and it’s not official. Keep on posting updates about the distribution, tutorials you found on webs and other things of interest on it.
Alternatively, if there are not frequent updates on the social media account of the Linux distro, contact the team, prove them that you are capable of handling social media account and ask for their permission to manage their social media accounts. One of my next projects is going to revolve around it.
Conclusion
Bottom line is that you can help desktop Linux grow by helping the Linux distribution, open source applications and various blogs and this you can do it in a number of ways. You don’t need to have skills, all you need is the will to help Linux grow. Skills are the plus points.
I would like that you pitch in your idea on how to help the desktop Linux community grow. If you already are doing something for this cause, do share it with rest of us so that we can take inspiration. Just to add in the end, did you follow the advice number one and share this article? :)
I am trying to translate this article to Chinese, and publish in my blog. I am a senior high school student in China, and i love Linux and open source. (this article is a little bit long, now i just finish a half but takes me 1 hour
I am not an expert in programming .. but I would love to help linux with what i can do .. so could you please tell me from where should i begin ?
There are several non-Dev options here. Choose the one that you like the most :)
yeah of course I am doing them .. . and i love to do those cause I love linux.. but I would love to give it a try to help linux with developing … but from where should i begin . .? and thank you very much for your response ..
One thing I find most common is just the general awareness of open source (GNU/Linux), is not as high and therefore people don’t even know much about it enough to use it. I think one of our primary goals should be just to spread the word about GNU/Linux and get people to start using it. It’s easy enough nowadays for the average use to install it. These old folklore sayings about having to be a “coder” or “developer”, or “compile” to use GNU/Linux is all rubbish. It’s as easy as installing any other modern OS, pop in the disc and follow the prompts and you’re up and running in no time. Those of us that have used GNU/Linux know that it can replace other OSes like Windows and MacOS, but as I mentioned, those stuck on those OSes don’t know GNU/Linux exists and are happy with what they have. They need a reason to switch. I educate them by showing them how Apple and Microsoft collect user information without telling the user, cause vendor lock-in, to how Windows is bloated and only runs on fast hardware, is expensive to buy, and many other reasons. Along with GNU/Linux is the vast array of software that goes along with it, making it a very complete operating system. Let’s educate those still using the proprietary OSes, and free them from their chains.
I completely agree with you that: “the general awareness of open source is not as high and
therefore people don’t even know much about it enough to use it.”
Also ” It’s as easy as installing any other modern OS,”
The proprietary OSs and applications can afford to advertise themselves and perhaps lobby for themselves but a community led OS like Linux (and applications for it) cannot afford it. To me it appears to be a big weakness.
Your suggestion: “Let’s educate those still using the proprietary OSes, and free them from their chains.”, is worth serious follow up.
Most annoying problem about the AD is its heavy load. It’s obvious that ads on web pages requires “a lot” rendering power. Since i like lightweight os and applicators I personally use xubuntu and nothing else for more than 3 years. It sometimes takes up to 30 seconds to load a page while waiting for some annoying ads. It is annoying because when you try scroll down and a ads is being loaded it just automatically scrolls up the page when it finishes. And those ads are cpu monster. When i disable ads blocker and try to surf on the net, my poor laptop’s temperature goes up to the Everest’s top. I love open source, i love community, i enjoy with every faking part of linux but you tell me to stop ads blocker huh? Sorry.
I am not saying that you disable ad blockers on the entire web. Just on your favorite Linux OS’s website or on your favorite Linux blog.
If you find the ads annoying, enable it again.
Also, it’s just one of the way :)
One important area could be to help writing (and update/correct) the community documentation (I’m thinking about wiki documentation).
Everyone can do it
+1 for this suggestion. Even I have found that at times, the wiki and guides are not updated for the newer versions. Something Linux distros should take in note.
True, it happens often that the community documentation of several projects is “out of date”.
This is because, I suppose, the process of publishing a OS or a software is really complicated: code writing, testing, QA, finding bugs and fix them before the release (at least, the critical ones).
In this prospective, updating the documentation can be considered “not so important” or as a secondary thing to do. If the wiki documentation is voluminous (I’m thinking about an operative system documentation, or a DE documentation…), updating the whole block of pages is really a BIG work to do.
So, if You find an outdated wiki page and You know how that particular software works, please, contact the “documentation team” (if present) or the developers and tell them what’s wrong and what to change/write. If you know how a wiki works, instead, update the documentation yourself :)
This is a GREAT thing you can do to help Linux and open source projects!
C’mon men,this is not for promote Linux,is for promote YOUR BLOG!!!!
That certainly is not the intention here.
I do like Abhishek’s blog, it’s promoting Linux…
or am I mistaken?
Please do not take such a narrow view of anything done by anyone in good faith.
I have two ways to get Linux used by more people. 1) Get it so there are actually good programs for the more niche crowds, i.e photoshop, gamers, the like. and 2) Get a desktop environment that doesn’t make me wish for the Vista interface! Seriously, I have never found a desktop that was super easy to use, Gnome comes close but still isn’t as easy as Windows or ChromeOS
Try Xubuntu with XFCE 4.12
“I have never found a desktop that was super easy to use, Gnome comes close but still isn’t as easy as Windows or ChromeOS”
Try live Linux Mint 17 Qiana,Cinnamon. Easier than any window or mac IMO.
I have tried Cinnamon, still isn’t as useful as the Windows start menu, or as intuitive for people who aren’t computer literate. This is what I am talking about, there is nothing that would make a normal computer user want to use Linux.
Zorin OS has interface similar to Windows. Give it a try.
Let us not fall into the trap of windows ‘Bhakts’ (devotees) who want linux desktops to behave exactly like windows, as, according to them, Windows OS is the ultimate. They will never believe that windows has its own flaws (plenty of them).
Please do tell them that Linux is not Windows and that GUI of Linux is perhaps better than that of Windows.
Linux as a dektop OS has moved from servers to desktops and combines the robustness of a server OS with the ease of use (for a non IT user) of a desktop OS. Windows, on the other hand, is struggling to establish as a server OS.
There is nothing wrong in someone’s preference. When Windows user switch to OS X, they are baffled as well. If a Windows like feel keeps a user happy, so be it.
Linux has this much of flexibility for sure.
I agree: “There is nothing wrong in someone’s preference”. Unfortunately, here in India at least, Windows users appear to be inflexible in their stand that every OS must emulate windows in every respect, which I feel is wrong.
Oh my goodness! Why isn’t this one more popular? I already have Debian installed, I should switch to this desktop!
The biggest issue I had switching to Linux was the fear that I would need a program that I used (past tense) in Windows and there would be no substitute. Obviously that was never an issue… needed something that would work like Microsoft Expressionweb, and there is KompoZer. Needed a good PDF program, ended up purchasing PDF Studio 10, and it works nearly as well as Acrobat Professional… at least for my needs. Struggled with scanning, and VueScan worked with my Brother scanner.
I can now proudly say I have not used Windows for over a year, and my workflow has improved, I haven’t had to spend hours into the wee hours of the morning reformatting and reinstalling Windows, fight viruses, malware, etc.
I even finally got a solution for multi screen use… that was a chore bue evidently is no more. MATE worked perfectly for two monitors, and now Cinnamon does as well (Linux Mint 17.2). All of our computers now run either Cinnamon or MATE. I even did my first build for my wife, and that machine screams.
She used OS-X, Yosemite, on a 10 year old Mac. She loves her new Linux box. We also have three Toughbooks with Mint Cinnamon installed… these are probably the perfect match of laptop and Linux. Absolutely flawless.
My two cents…
My issue is I play alot of video games, these almost all need Directx or something and go through Steam. PlayonLinux and Wine only goes so far. Besides games I would just get a good Chromebook since I can still code on those and the battery life is amazing!
Fair point… gaming still appears to be an issue with Linux… don’t know personally as the only game I play on the computer is chess, and that is very rare. I can say that I found a very nice download tweak that makes Gimp look and act much more like photoshop, and that was a huge help to me switching over. It can be found at doctormo-dot-deviantart-dot-com and doing a search for Gimp 2.8 photoshop tweaks. My photo workflow has improved, and the tools I use in Gimp actually work more efficiently and are more intuitive than photoshop. Very glad to be free of the adobe suite thing altogether. Now, if I could just find something I like as much as Logic Pro, I would be delighted. Probably out there, just haven’t found it yet.
I am going to make an effort to contribute to the Linux community, even with my limited abilities, because it is the right thing to do and I very much support everything FOSS stands for.
BTW, with the TLP tweak for my toughbook, plus following the instructions regarding optimizing a new battery for the longest life, I am getting easily 6 hours on a charge. Rarely got 2 with windows…
Yeah my laptop has Linux on it, but I don’t game on it or anything. I only use it for work and my computer classes. If all the games I played were on Linux my desktop would have it
1) Get it so there are actually good programs for the more niche crowds, i.e photoshop, gamers, the like.
Now if you want Photoshop, a professional grade software in India, it cost about Rs 40000/- in 2012. Do you think that any organisation can spend the amount of money needed to develop equivalent of Photoshop or CAD or project management and suchlike software and give it away for free? Developers of GIMP are struggling with funds crunch for a long time.
Why not ask makers of such software to make it run on open source software also?
2) Seriously, I have never found a desktop that was super easy to use.
I do not know your definition of ‘super easy to use’ or whether such a GUI is a mirage. I am a ‘normal’ ie not at all IT savvy person who switched to Ubuntu /Fedora from Windows and found no difficulty. The GUI was super easy to use.
As a follow up I don’t care too much about photoshop and most niche programs but I do praise companies that do put their programs on Linux and keep it up to date. Games have been exciting with Valve pushing developers.
With the desktop interfaces, I probably also should have said also nice looking and customization. Windows has the nice looking (I think so at least) but not the customization, and Linux has a huge amount of customization but alot of times it is confusing to actually do.
I guess what I am saying is that Android is the most popular Linux OS and these two things are basically what it does differently (besides being on mobile)