# Are you contributing to Hacktoberfest? A few tips for you. `Hacktoberfest` is a month-long event to celebrate opensource by encouraging all to contribute to the opensource ecosystem. This year is no exception. `Hacktoberfest 2021` has been started in full swing. There are a considerable amount of contributions already. But we still have a long way to go. This article discusses a few facts to keep us involved well with the open-source communities. # First thing first, how to get STARTED? To get started with Hacktoberfest, please register yourself [here](https://hacktoberfest.digitalocean.com/). You can register yourself as a contributor, project maintainer, event organizer, or all of them. @[Ayushi Rawat](@ayushi7rawat) wrote an excellent article guiding us about Hacktoberfest 2021. It is a must-read to know more about the event, how to participate in it, guidelines, and many more details. - [https://ayushirawat.com/beginners-guide-to-hacktoberfest-2021](https://ayushirawat.com/beginners-guide-to-hacktoberfest-2021) If you are new to open-source, this Twitter thread may come in handy. %[https://twitter.com/tapasadhikary/status/1435590663035310086] Also, do not miss to read this incredible article by @[Catalin Pit](@Catalinpit), - [Getting Started With Open-Source: How To Contribute As A Beginner](https://catalins.tech/getting-started-with-open-source-how-to-contribute-as-a-beginner) Alright, now the tips. # It's NOT just the CODING alone The Opensource contributions are not only about coding, enhancements, and bug fixes. It is way more than that. Please find your opportunities to contribute to a project's documentation, automation, build, test, and many more. %[https://twitter.com/tapasadhikary/status/1444353790753214464] # We all love swags, but the QUALITY Contributions first Who doesn't love Hacktoberfest swags? The stickers, t-shirts are the most fantastic rewards that one can get. But hold on. Do not target that alone. It would be a wrong move on your part to spam the open-source projects for swags. %[https://twitter.com/catalinmpit/status/1444908441898786816] # FOUR contributions are too less and way more You need to try creating at least 4 `quality` pull requests to get acknowledged by the Hactoborfest community. ![Acknowledgement](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1633338717393/TfuWKuSYX.png?border=1,CCCCCC) The number four could be very few for some or a bit more for a few. Try your best to reach this mark without creating spam. If you can continue beyond the four, it's truly amazing. # Maintainers ENCOURAGE Contributors The open-source project maintainers have a significant stake in the Hacktoberfest event. They put forward their projects, guide issues, handle PRs, may mentor contributors. If you have a public GitHub repository and want others to contribute, please make it ready by following a few simple steps documented in this thread, %[https://twitter.com/tapasadhikary/status/1440296182396309513] When you start receiving contributions to your project, please acknowledge contributors' hard work, time, and effort. Something trivial to you may be just very challenging to others and vice-versa. Please be respectful. Thank them publicly for their quality contributions. At the same time, do not tolerate malpractices. As mentioned in the thread above, create clear CODE-OF-CONDUCT and CONTRIBUTING guides. # LIFE beyond Hacktoberfest An event like Hacktoberfest is an excellent opportunity for the tech communities to come together, build networking, make friends for a lifetime. Try to continue to be associated with the open-source project you have contributed to before. Try to learn from the project maintainers and plan for it yourself. > Opensource contribution is a habit. Once you build it, there is no looking back. # Looking for a project to get started? You can start looking here for all the projects taking part in the hacktoberfest. - [https://github.com/topics/hacktoberfest](https://github.com/topics/hacktoberfest) Take a look at this article by @[Catalin Pit](@Catalinpit) on how to, - [Find Open Source Projects To Contribute As A Beginner](https://catalins.tech/find-open-source-projects-to-contribute-as-a-beginner) I'm maintaining these four projects you can contribute to, - A playground for JavaScript Web APIS %[https://github.com/atapas/webapis-playground] - A tool to create, manage, export, and share shapes %[https://github.com/TryShape/tryshape] - A notification widget %[https://github.com/atapas/notifyme] - A bunch of resources/quizzes help you to prepare with JavaScript Async operations and promises. %[https://github.com/atapas/promise-interview-ready]
That's all for now. I hope you found this article informative, and it will help you to get started with Hacktoberfest. Let's connect. You can find me on, - [GitHub(atapas)](https://github.com/atapas) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/tapasadhikary)