Contribute
Linux is simply the most useful operating system ever created. Linux takes all the well-known virtues of UNIX and makes them extremely easy to apply and improve. Because its source code is open, and the whole community is welcome to help improve that code, Linux has grown to serve the needs of that community in better and better ways. Today, it is exactly what everyone wants from an operating system: something that is efficient, reliable, easy to implement and inviting to developers of all kinds.
What makes Linux different from other mainstream operating systems — Microsoft’s Windows and Windows NT, Apple’s Macintosh and even the many other flavors of UNIX that have been around for decades is that Linux is a product of the software building trade, rather than the vendors who supply that trade. It is built, literally, to serve the needs of the people who put it to work, rather than the urges of vendors to control markets and make life difficult for competitors.
This is why Linux is now doing to the software business what the Internet has already done to the networking business: it is changing that business from a war between vendors into a wide-open universe of opportunities for every industry that stands to benefit from computing solutions in the literal meaning of that word. Linux has become the ideal problem-solving platform with applications that are easy to build, improve and maintain, in highly useful and reliable ways. That fact alone is bound to change the world.
Find ways that you can help contribute to Linux:
Participate in Linux Discussions
No amount of participation is too small. Even simply posting a question in a forum or newsgroup contributes to the community — perhaps your question is one too many people were afraid to ask or perhaps your question sparks a conversation about new features or programs needed, or… who knows! Ask away and when you become more experienced you’ll be able to give back by answering others’ questions too.
- Linux Journal forums allow users of all levels to interact with each other.
- linux-list is a Linux mailing list hosted by Linux Journal that covers a variety of Linux topics with a high signal-to-noise ratio.
- USENET features thousands of newsgroups specific to Linux.
Contribute to the Linux Documentation Project
The LDP is always looking for people to assist in the quest for developing and providing free, high quality documentation for Linux.
Join an Organization
- Free Software Foundation
- Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Linux Foundation
- Linux International
- Open Source Initiative
Attend an Event
One of the best ways to contribute to the Linux community is simply getting out there, meeting your fellow Linux enthusiasts and chatting with them (don’t forget the pint of beer!).
Give a Laptop to a Child
One Laptop Per Child is an organization striving to provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves with a unique machine (running Linux) created specifically for children of the emerging world.
