in reply to Finding "Accidental Contributions" with Google Code Search

Doing a quick check I didn't find any contributions I didn't previously know about. I did find that I'm still attributed for a contribution I made to one project over five years ago.

That project has since gone through several revisions and a new major release which has itself had several revisions. They keep a detailed changelog, though, and credit people who made contributions there. It's something I as a contributor really appreciate.

One thing I've noticed is how hard it can be to use open source contributions to minor projects on a resumé or in a portfolio. There are a number of projects I've made contributions to that have ceased distribution. There's usually no fault there, since so many projects overlap and so many people lose free time or lose interest. Other projects, though, seem to time out attributions in their credits and even their changelogs, which is both illegal and wrong as far as I can tell. Besides being a neat find, perhaps these found attributions can help someone's career or help build a client list.


Christopher E. Stith
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Re^2: Finding "Accidental Contributions" with Google Code Search
by jasonk (Parson) on Oct 13, 2006 at 17:11 UTC

    Sadly I think it may work the other way for me, some of the projects I have listed on resume from years ago shame me when I stumble across the ugly, ugly code I used to write.


    We're not surrounded, we're in a target-rich environment!
      Hopefully you'll take the chance to show yourself and others how much and how quickly your skills grew from that point forward.

      Also, if you have the time and will to do it, you could always contribute cleaner code to any project that's still using ugly code you contributed.

      I tend to be a hit-and-run Open Source contributor myself. I'll find a solution that almost meets my needs, customize it, use it in-house or for a client, and contribute back what's useful to the project. Then, I'll go on to deal with another project for another client. Sometimes my code is refactored, rewritten, or flat out removed in favor of another approach by the time I get back to a project and see what's become of it.


      Christopher E. Stith