Maybe Contributing to Open Source Isn't So Scary?!

Despite nearly a decade of experience using free and open-source geospatial software, the idea of contributing has always felt distant. This year, that changed for me.

At a recent GeoMob meetup in Berlin, I saw a fascinating talk by a developer of PROJ— the open source library that handles the math behind cartographic projections and transformations in QGIS. I was blown away that at some point, this man was typing away on a feature branch on his computer, adding the Spilhaus projection to QGIS, seemingly as casually as grabbing milk from the store.

My Spilhaus map from the 2023 30 Day Map Challenge

Projections are such a core functionality that it has been easy for me to forget that someone took the time to implement them. It reminds me of our often estranged connection to the food we eat— blissfully unaware of the effort and work of the people that grow it. 

Apparently I had showed so much enthusiasm at this projection presentation that between that and my accent, it was abundantly clear I was American. (We tend to come across as overly enthusiastic about things, I guess. In my defense, I think I was appropriately enthusiastic 😄). He told me that if I liked his talk, I should check out FOSS4G Europe. 

So here I am, brain buzzing after a week of engaging talks and discussions at FOSS4G in Mostar, Bosnia.

Although I build tools, streamline workflows, and squash bugs at my job at Seqana, something about contributing to open source has always felt unattainable and intimidating.

I started asking people at the conference about their first contribution to open source. One person told me he started by improving documentation: if he couldn’t follow something and had to go down a rabbit hole to figure it out, he’d add what he learned to the docs so the next person wouldn’t have to. Others talked about writing clear and thorough bug reports and feature requests, and eventually trying to fix and implement them themselves. It all made so much sense. These were all things I already do in a work context!

Then one afternoon, after the workshops were done for the day, I had a few hours to kill before the GeoChicas Take Mostar meetup. I decided to grab a bite at a nearby pub. Upon arriving, I noticed a long chain of tables full of experienced developers. I sat quietly at the only open table (which happened to be directly next to them) and, out of sheer anxiety, chose a chair that faced the other direction. I pulled out my journal to scribble a few notes. But before my pen could touch the page, one of them welcomed me to pull up a chair and join them.

At that table, we dove into conversations about open source that you don’t always hear from conference podiums. With a smile and a twinkled eye, one man said, “Open source isn’t charity. It is fundamentally selfish. You run into a problem in the software, and then you fix it for yourself.” 

All too often I had run into small bugs and worked around them on my own— never to report or fix them in the software or libraries themselves. This relationship to software, one based on ownership, responsibility, and self-sufficiency, was new to me. It wasn't about helping some idealized community (though the community aspect and giving back to it are both wonderful and real). It was and is about helping yourself. You fix the bug because you need it fixed. You create the plugin because it helps you. 

I appreciate that aspect of open source: how it blurs the line between user and creator. It begins not by getting a degree, passing a test, or being knighted by some official Github royalty, but by simply solving problems for yourself...and then eventually for others too.

I think I’ll often come back to that moment at the pub—how one quiet and unsteady step into this open source world turned into a seat at the table. If you’re ever feeling unsure, or like you don’t belong, remember how powerful one small welcome can be (even from your side). Whether at a conference or out in the free and open source geospatial world, often the best way to participate is simply to invite someone else in.

So, maybe I’ll see you at the next FOSS4G? :)

Sunscreened camera lens next to Mercator grocery store on my way home from the conference. (Mercator is the name of a map projection).

Japanese rice cracker from a new FOSS4G friend

I'm a sucker for heart maps

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