> At 4:36 PM -0800 2001/1/19, Kris Kennaway wrote:
> 
> >  s/write code/contribute/
> >
> >  That's all it is, and if you think about it, it's basically a truism.
> 
> 	There are plenty of ways to contribute that do not require 
> writing code, however my personal experience is that those other 
> methods do not tend to be valued by many members of the FreeBSD 
> community.

The lack of *perceived* value may be related to the people who see your
contributions.  I say perceived because your contributions may well have
been valued, it's just that you didn't get enough positive feedback.

The types of things people value vary greatly.  One coder may
greater appreciate the work of another coder because it lets them
accomplish something.  Personally, the type of work I appreciate most
is that of the port maintainers and of the documentation project?  Why?
Because the OS isn't much use if you can't get the apps you want.  And
documentation is what lets you use the OS in the first place.

These non-code contributions are very much appreciated.  It's just 
that the people who appreciate it are not in the vocal sector of the
community.  For example, I know that my work on FreeBSD Diary is appreciated 
by the readers.  Why?  Because the number of feedback comments I get saying 
"thanks, your site helped me a lot!".

> Your experience may be different, but that doesn't change mine.

It's unfortunate that your experience didn't include any appreciation 
of your work.  If you like the type of work you did, keep doing it.  If
you dislike the lack of displayed appreciation, try another type of
contribution.  But don't give up.

For the lurkers and non-coders out there: this article generated the most 
amount of feedback.   It shows a few easy ways you can contribute
regardless of your skill level.

      <http://freebsddiary.org/advocacy.html>

Keep


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