There’s a saying that goes something like this: “We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit” – Aristotle

In my opinion OpenHatch embodies this saying each time I dive deeper into the community.  Although I have yet to contribute much due to time constraints I still find the contributors delightful.  I found myself in the OpenHatch IRC channel asking questions about FOSS and trying to learn, and many people gladly take time out of their day to answer your questions and further your understanding of what you’re working on.  The most shocking part to me was how efficient OpenHatch is about getting people involved in the open source community –  from the ground up.  One of the more interesting workshops the folks over at OpenHatch have been working on is “Open Source Comes to Campus.”  Essentially, volunteers come to your college campus to teach practical skills needed to contribute to open source projects.

I think that open source software is very important to keep around and is a great place to start for people who want to learn.  You don’t even have to know how to code to be a part of something really special – as long as you have some sort of skill you can contribute.  I have yet to have a bad experience with anyone from this community, and thanks to everyone at OpenHatch who has sparked my interests in free software.  Personally, I try to welcome newcomers to the community and answer general questions that may come up.  I also keep up with a few OpenHatch mailing lists and when I have enough time I hope to contribute to the code base.

The biggest thing that I’ve learned from OpenHatch is that no matter how big or small your contribution matters, and it feels AWESOME to be a part of something that might help others.  The second biggest thing I’ve learned is to never be afraid to ask a question, but also don’t forget to listen.  Often times, when you are learning new things it’s hard to understand the first time around.  If you don’t understand, just ASK.  Everyone I have come in contact with in this community has a great humility to them, and they really do help.  To get involved just drop by the OpenHatch IRC channel on freenode!

Before I started frequenting OpenHatch I never found a community that was anything close to the awesome atmosphere for self and community growth.  The first time interacting with a new community online you would generally feel some apprehension.  You may be interested in how to contribute, and all those questions have been asked a million times, but it’s important that your voice is heard!  Although, one thing worth mentioning is that is it NEVER necessary to ask to ask a question – just ask away!