Bonjour,
I’ve been interested in contributing to Free Software for the longest time. The primary reason is because I like it. But I’m also fascinated when I observe that most developers do not contribute to the Free Software they use, although they could. A problem that was articulated better than I ever could by talented people, for instance in the context of the contributopia project.
There is no denying it is completely off-topic and I would not be offended if people ask me to redirect this discussion elsewhere. The reason why I chose to post here is because there may be a connection between the dynamic of Free Software contribution (or lack thereof) and our ability to effectively self-host services in a sustainable way. When the energy of most developers is not directed towards Free Software, progress is slower than it could be. And maybe training could be a way to change that?
Another reason is that, in the context of the Enough collective, I’m working on openedX based MOOCs to help users who have no tech background using self-hosted services. I suspect most self-hosted organizations could have something similar instead of traditional documentation or video tutorials. And it would make sense for a MOOC on Free Software contribution to be self-hosted. It could even be a target for students contributions: they could discover how to change their user experience by modifying the software they use to learn how to contribute.
I discussed this informally with a friend today and if there is no objection, I propose we continue the dialog here, in public. Chances are there won’t be anything ground breaking, don’t hold your breath
Cheers