Other ways to contribute

If you don't really have much coding experience, or just don't know Ruby on Rails, there are other, important ways you can to contribute to the project.

Get an account

Start contributing simply by signing up - join one of the many open pods and connect with people. Use the software for yourself and get a feel for it.

Open a pod

Even better than opening a seed (account) on one of the open pods, start your own pod. You can run a pod that is only for you or for you and your friends, or you can open it up to anyone who wants to join diaspora*. Installing and running a pod requires a little bit of technical knowledge at the moment, although we're planning to make it simpler.

Report bugs

If something doesn't work as it should, let the coders know. Learn more about how to report bugs on Github.

Give as much information as you can, such as the name of your pod, the version of diaspora*s code that your pod is running (you might find this in the footer of the pod's pages, or you can find it on Pod Uptime, the operating system name and version number your computer/device is running and the name and version number of the bowser you're using.

Before creating a new issue in Github for a bug, please use Github's search facility to check for existing issues concerning the same bug.

Test reported bugs

Another really useful task is to see if you can reproduce a bug that someone else has reported. Try to perform the operation they said they're having problems with, and see if it works, or whether it goes wrong in the way they describe or even in a different way. Give as many details as you can about what you did and what happened, plus all the detailed information about your setup listed above under reporting a bug.

Request new features

If there's something you'd really like to see in diaspora*, let us know. We discuss possible features using Loomio.

Before starting a new discussion in Loomio, please use the search facility on Loomio and Github to check for existing issues or discussions. There are a lot of features which have been requested but which we have not been able to implement yet for one reason or another, so please check carefully that the feature you want hasn't been requested yet.

Provide translations

If you can translate diaspora* into a new language, or improve the existing documentation in your language, we'd love to hear from you. Read more about how to contribute translations.

Spread the word

If you blog, tweet, or have some other platform to reach others, talk about diaspora*. Let people know you're part of the diaspora* community, and how you like it. Users of Facebook, Twitter and other platforms need to know that there is an alternative for them, and how good diaspora* is!

Write tutorials and user guides

We're keen to add to our tutorials for users. If you would like to help write a tutorial on a subject which hasn't yet been covered, let us know. You can find the source on Github

Add to this wiki

If you've got any helpful tips to add, or if something here isn't very clear, edit this wiki. It's a great place to pool user information, so new people can find help and learn about the project.

Make a video or some fan art

Make screencasts, make animations, make slideshows. Show people what diaspora* is, how it works, and why it's good for you.

Also, see the list of grassroots community projects for more suggestions