What is an open source project? An open source project refers to the license under which the CODE is distributed. Feel free to use Wikipedia yourself to come up with your own idea as to what is an open source project.

How are open source projects managed or governed? Now this is an interesting question, however the answer is simple: They are all governed in different ways. Some are purely developer driven with non-developers having no say at all in the project. Others may even go the other way to a certain extent.

What is an open source community? In the context of Joomla, we have an largely online or virtual community. A definition of a virtual community can be found here. Our community is largely found here: https://forum.joomla.org and on the other official sites, like http://extensions.joomla.org. You may correctly note though, that this is not the only place you can find Joomla Community Members, however it IS the single biggest place that you will. It's been stated that anyone who uses Joomla is a part of the community, and that may well be your view as well.

What is the Joomla Community, primarily for? Primarily, the infrastructure the community uses to interact with, was setup as a place to find support for using Joomla. It also has many other lesser important uses, such as a place for Joomla Workgroups to work in. Note though, the Joomla CODE could still exist without the community (others forms of infrastructure could be used to facilitate the coordination and participation in the development of the code.)

Would Joomla be one of the world's most popular open source projects without the community? Absolutely not! Without the support of the community Joomla would not be what it is today. Joomla, although technically only code, has to many people, become a passion, whether it is for coding, interacting in the community, producing GPL Extensions, or making a commercial living from. So, getting back to the initial question then...

What is 'contributing' to an Open Source Project? I apologise to the many perhaps hundreds of people who I have missed, but THIS IS CONTRIBUTING:

• RobInk: Over 6300 HELPFUL posts, many repetitive, answering the same questions over and over again, tirelessly helping.
• Tonie: Over 6100 posts, much the same as the above. Hours and hours each day helping others, supporting the JED editors and so many other things behind the scenes.
• infograf768:Over 5200 posts, HELPING users, international community members, hours and hours of time.
• Jinx: Tireless coding, hours and hours, still has time to explain things to community members who ask.
• pe7er, nathandiel, Wizzie, dhuelsmann: All incredibly active, devoting hours and hours to helping other community members.
• louis.landry, RobS, rliskey, MMMedia, WRobinson, ot2sen, LorenzoG, friesengeist, Hackwar and many many more.

Is it the number of posts that matters? No, it's the content and constancy with which they tirelessly continue day in and day out to CONTRIBUTE to this Great Project, within the contribution framework that we currently have. These people, and many many more that time does not permit me to list, are the ones that make Joomla what it is today. Are you one of them? People, THIS IS CONTRIBUTING! So, do YOU want to contribute?

If so, and ironically this is the best way to thank those who do contribute so much, you will involve yourself in helping others in the community or by contributing to the code, within the current framework. Even if their questions are repeated, again and again. This is a way you, anyone, can contribute and give back to Joomla. Will you? Rather than talking about how Joomla should be doing this and that, do it yourself, and show us how we can simply implement your solution, provide a proof of concept. Talk and complaining is a slap in the face to the very people who work so hard to support Joomla. Do you want to help out with the code? Testing the code? Documentation? Forum moderating? Translating? Design? Marketing? If so, please see: https://www.joomla.org/contribute-to-joomla.html Can you contribute to Joomla in a financial way? If so, please see: this page.

Conclusion: There is no utopia. No one, and no project, is perfect. Do we have faults, yes, some of them may be more important to you than they are to me, however the fact remains, if you are here for Joomla, the structure is already in place (maybe not ideal, or perfect) for your contribution to be accepted.

So, will you contribute? If so, I look forward to seeing you in the community, genuinely helping people, in any way you can, within the current provisions that exist. Show me your contributions, and you'll have my respect! Talk is cheap, amateurs talk, professionals WORK. PS Didn't you love the comment from Chris here: "I didn't complain, I just started writing my own and donating it the project. I considered it was the best way of paying back for such great software." THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! :)

*Disclaimer: The preceding post is my own opinion and may not reflect the views of the Company/People I frequently represent. It is not designed to point fingers at any individuals, but rather is an effort to explain, from my point of view, how I fit in, and how I personally measure others contributions. I realise your view of 'community' may be different to mine, however the similar principles apply.