Revision as of 08:22, 12 December 2014

The KDE Community

The KDE Community is an international team co-operating on development and distribution of Free, Open Source Software for desktop and portable computing. Our community has developed a wide variety of applications for communication, work, education and entertainment. We have a strong focus on finding innovative solutions to old and new problems, creating a vibrant, open atmosphere for experimentation. Since our software is free and open source, everyone can play a part in contributing to KDE.

Software produced by KDE

For users on Linux and Unix, KDE offers a full suite of user workspace applications which allow interaction with these operating systems in a modern, graphical user interface. This includes Plasma Desktop, KDE's innovative desktop interface. Other workspace applications are included to aid with system configuration, running programs, or interacting with hardware devices. While the fully integrated KDE Workspaces are only available on Linux and Unix, some of these features and our applications are available on other platforms.

How to connect with mentors via IRC

Mentors are the main people you communicate with while completing a task. They are the people whom you ask when you have any questions to ask regarding the task. Along with leaving messages in melange, you can communicate with them via IRC, a chat system. You can use webchat.freenode.net in your browser, and may want to consider using a desktop IRC client if you enjoy IRC. KDE uses the Freenode network along with many other open-source projects. To chat in IRC just type and hit [enter]. Commands begin with the "/" character, such as /connect irc.freenode.net to connect to Freenode if you've not already done so.

IRC is made of channels (think, "chat rooms") which start with a pound sign, such as "#kde". On Freenode, you can expect to find a channel for almost any FOSS project, eg, #Fedora, #Python, #Ubuntu. To join a channel, use the /join command, eg, /join #kde or /join #kde-soc .

IRC Clients

IRC clients communicate with IRC network servers to allow sending of messages from one user to another. You may have to install an IRC client if your distribution doesn't provide one. Some examples of IRC clients are XChat and IRSSI for Linux or Windows, and Colloquy for Mac. KDE's IRC client is Konversation which will connect you to Freenode by default.

More about Konversation, and Konversation user manual.

IRC channel for each task category

Tasks in Google Code-in are grouped into five categories. Below are the recommended channels for each category so that you can find more information regarding a task. #kde-soc is the channel for all mentors and students.

Code: #kde-devel
Documentation/Training: #kde-docs
Outreach/Research: #kde and #kde-promo
Quality Assurance: #kde-bugs and #kde-quality
User Interface: #kde-usability

Creating a KDE identity account

It is highly recommended that you create a KDE account as KDE Identity is the central database for KDE websites. Using your KDE Identity credentials, you can log into all Identity enabled KDE websites except bugzilla. Please use your real name to register for a KDE identity account.

KDE wikis

Much KDE information is kept on the wikis, which are easily kept up-to-date.

Creating a Bugzilla account

Many open-source organisations, including KDE have a Bugzilla account. You may want to create a Bugzilla account to facilitate communication between you and your mentors. A separate account is needed apart from your KDE identity account. Below is the link to KDE's Bugzilla account:

KDE's Bugzilla account

Best practices in GCi conversations

KDE uses IRC and mailing lists to communicate. While talking with your mentors, community members and other students remember:

IRC

Be considerate and polite.
Never put your personal information (phone number, home address) on a mailing list or in IRC .
During Google Code-in mentors are sometimes busy helping students, or reviewing tasks. They may not see you join, or see what you write for several minutes. However, especially for beginner tasks, other students and mentors are usually happy to help.

Mail lists

When responding to an existing post, please quote relevant text from the original message. It should be easy for those who did not read the original message to understand the issue.
Keep subject lines to the point and your message concise.
Don’t attach files unless your mentor has specifically told you to do so.
Plain text please, unless you are asked to include graphics, charts, or other images.

How you should do your research

You may get help from the open-source project's community and still take credit completing a task. We want you to get to know each project's community members and to understand their processes and requirements. It's totally fine to ask for help if you're stuck, but remember that you should try to solve the problem yourself before getting assistance. To put it a different way, you've taken responsibility for accomplishing something, so it's perfectly acceptable to get it done in a collaborative fashion - that's how open source works! But remember that you are not allowed to directly copy and paste from another website!

Useful links regarding Google Code-in

Here are some links regarding Google Code-in so you can have a clearer idea on what it is all about:

@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 [http://bugs.kde.org/ KDE's Bugzilla account]
-= Etiquette during IRC chats =
+= Best practices in GCi conversations =
-Most open source organizations use IRC and/or mailing lists to communicate with one another.  If you keep the following items in mind when communicating with your mentors, community members and other students this will help make a positive, professional impression with the community.
-* Be considerate. When you are asking for help, being rude or pushy will rarely get you an answer to your question. It  will also cause people to immediately have a negative response to you, not something you ever want.
+KDE uses IRC and mailing lists to communicate. While talking with your mentors, community members and other students remember:
-* Never put your personal information in a mailing list or on IRC - no phone numbers, or home addresses, etc...
-* When responding to an existing post/email, please include relevant text from the original message. It should still be possible for somebody who did not read the original message to understand what you are talking about. .
+== IRC ==
-* Keep subject lines short and to the point. Likewise, keep your message to the point, no need to write a page about your problem/question.
-* Don’t attach files to your email unless your mentor has specifically told you to do so.
+* Be considerate and polite.
-* Never use personal attacks or profanity, if you would not say it in a crowded room for all to hear, do not write it in a message.
+* Never put your personal information (phone number, home address) on a mailing list or in IRC .
-* Plain text is always best, avoid including graphics, charts, and images.
+* During Google Code-in mentors  are sometimes busy helping students, or reviewing tasks. They may not see you join, or see what you write for several minutes. However, especially for beginner tasks, other students and mentors are usually happy to help.
-* Please keep in mind that during Google Code-in mentors are often swamped with helping students and reviewing tasks or they have their own personal lives to lead. They are not likely staring at an IRC window right when you join and may not see what you write for several minutes. However, especially for beginner tasks, other Google Code-in students are usually happy to help.
+== Mail lists ==
+* When responding to an existing post, please quote relevant text from the original message. It should be easy for those who did not read the original message to understand the issue.
+* Keep subject lines to the point and your message concise.
+* Don’t attach files unless your mentor has specifically told you to do so.
+* Plain text please, unless you are asked to include graphics, charts, or other images.
 = How you should do your research =