Ayu Adiati

As an open source maintainer, one of my daily tasks is reminding contributors to complete their pull request (PR) templates or asking them to provide missing information on their issues. Although the saved replies feature on GitHub helps me a lot, it still takes me time to personalize replies based on the case. This is a challenge not only for me but also for most maintainers.

It is very important to take the time to fill out these forms and templates completely and accurately. This not only makes the process smoother and faster for everyone involved but also ensures that your contribution is given the attention and consideration it deserves, benefiting both you as a contributor and us as maintainers.

Have you ever been excited to use open source software or contribute to the codebase only to hit a brick wall of confusion because the instructions are unclear? It's frustrating, right?

But what if there was a way to tear down those walls and build bridges of understanding instead? That's where the documentation comes in.

One of the most satisfying moments as an open source project contributor is having your pull request (PR) merged into the main branch. This contribution showcases your skills, passion, and dedication to the project. However, the road to a successful PR can sometimes be bumpy and full of pitfalls.

Have you ever experienced the frustration of your PR being rejected or stuck in a never-ending review process? It can be demotivating and time-consuming, especially when you're eager to see your changes integrated into the project.

In the open source community, we often focus on contributor onboarding. We ensure a clear README, contributing guidelines, and a welcoming community to guide new contributors and help them get started. But what about maintainers?

Have you ever faced a dilemma as a maintainer, wondering whether to tackle an issue yourself or create an issue for the community to solve?

Knowing when to delegate tasks and involve external contributors is crucial for empowering contributors, fostering a healthy community, and keeping your sanity intact. However, there are also tasks that only the core team may and can handle.