How To Get Started In Open Source

Especially if you're not a white male.  Say you're a software developer and you want to give back to an open-source project you've relied on yourself. Or perhaps you just want to build up experience in open source because, well, open-source projects are the future.

But you're hesitant because open source communities can be unfriendly—sometimes even intimidating—to newcomers and outsiders. That might be especially true for women and people of color, who appear to be woefully underrepresented in open source. How are you supposed to get started?

Fear not. Shauna Gordon-McKeon has your back. Gordon-McKeon is program director at OpenHatch, a nonprofit group dedicated to open source education. She regularly visits universities and technology conferences geared towards women to promote more female participation in open source software...