Contributing

While most people tend to think that only programmers can contribute to the development of an open source application, this is not the case. There are many other ways in which people can contribute to the project. Projects like openlp.org not only need people to write code, they also need people to write documentation, to distribute the final product to others, and people to help support other users.

Documentation

Probably the biggest need next to actual programming, documentation is something that often is sorely lacking in any open source project. Sadly, openlp.org is no different. There are a few areas to help out in:

User Guide

The user guide is shipped with openlp.org and helps folks learning how to use the application. It includes a basic tutorial on how to set up an order of service, and more advanced topics like creating custom slides.

Online Documentation

The online documentation is a more complete version of the user guide. This allows people to not only add more documentation to what's currently there, but to also add their comments on topics, if they wish, to aid or extend the documentation.

Help File

The help file, to all intents and purposes, is a copy of the online documentation. The only two differences are that the help file is a snapshot of the online documentation at the time of the release, and that the user comments do not feature in the help file.

Technical Support

Any software product with a couple of users needs technical support. This is a team of dedicated people who will listen to users' queries about the application, and help them learn how to better use the software. openlp.org is no different, receiving a few support requests every week.

System Administration

We also have a team that looks after the web site, makes sure SVN is fine, and does other system administration tasks. While this is not a very needy part, the systems are what allows openlp.org to be written collaboratively and enables people to communicate, and thus it's very important.

Distribution

While most commercial applications have a distribution channel, open source software has no formal distribution channel. This means that most users hear about open source software either from their friends, or from a search on the Internet.

In openlp.org's case, very few people even get as far as searching for lyrics projection software. So distribution for openlp.org is very important.

Want To Contribute?

If you'd like to help out with the openlp.org project, then please contact the relevant person.