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If you don't have coding skills, why don't you help foss software by making it more user friendly instead? (lemmy.giftedmc.com)

submitted 11 months ago by haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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Disclaimer

Not trying to blame anyone here. I‘m just taking an idea I‘ve read and spinning it further:

Intro

A lot of people use free open source software (foss), Linux being one of them. But a lot less actually help make this software. If I ask them why, they always say „I don’t have the coding skills!“.

Maybe its worth pointing out that you don‘t need them. In a lot of cases it’s better to not have any so you can see stuff with a „consumer view“.

In that situation you can file issues on github and similar places. You can write descriptions that non technical people can understand. You can help translate and so on, all depending on your skills.

Other reasons?

I‘d really like to know so the foss community can talk about making it worthwile for non coders to participate.

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[–] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

Why does it have to be documenting internal designs, architecture, and all that? Why not app user manuals or install guides or any of myriad other sorts of documentation?

Just because one specific scenario may not be suited doesn't mean no scenario is suited to what op is proposing.

I mean first, what kind of projects are we even talking about, libraries? APIs? Apps? Command line tools? Etc?

Because the technical writing needs vary depending on what kind of project. They don't all require coding skills for success.