How to Have a Successful Open Source Project

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Make sure you want to do it.

   Setting up a new project is easy, but making it running as needed (user feedback, bug reports, requests for enhancement, contribution from other developers) needs a considerable amount of initial contribution of the working code from your side.
   
   If all you want is to become a free software hacker, it may be simpler to join an existing project.
   
   Think twice.
2. 2

   Step 2: Find contributors beforehand.

   Don't start alone It is easier to find contributors before starting than once the project is created.
   
   The reason is that if the project already exists, they will not feel like they own the project.
   
   Start discussions on blogs and forums and meet people first. , Don't try to invent your own Open Source license.
   
   Most developers know what "GPL"
   
   "LGPL" "BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution)" and "Apache" mean, what they can do with such code and what they are not allowed to do.
   
   License is a complex document and nobody wants to hire a lawyer just to understand all possible interpretations.
   
   If the license is written by a person without legal education, it may have unexpected and undesirable interpretations of it. , It is relatively easy to get free hosting for an Open Source project (SourceForge, Object Web and others).
   
   Use this opportunity: this not just saves money, but also puts your project into a place where people are likely to search for Open Source projects. , Do not skip this step even if you initially work alone. , During intensive development, the code on the CVS (Concurrent Versions System) does not always stay in a "ready for production use" state. , Although this seems like a very simple thing, it is the most overlooked.
   
   Remember that people will only view your project for a few seconds before deciding whether to download it. , Although you will have to rollback vandalism, it will help you to find new contributors.
   
   There are tools like the SVN hooks to automatically filter flooding.
   
   You can protect some important code and ban the bad contributors. , If you have a community going and someone informs you of a bug, ask the community if they would like to fix it. , Members of the community will think that you are trying to keep them out of the loop. , Submit your project on blogs and forums.
   
   Efficient keywords to search such blogs are: "(subject) submit site"
   
   "submit a site"
   
   "submit your site"
   
   or "site submission"; (subject) is the subject of your project. ,, One day, you will get bored with your project.
   
   Think about who will maintain the project for you in the future.
3. 3

   Step 3: Pick an existing and approved Open Source license for your project.

4. 4

   Step 4: Get hosting.

5. 5

   Step 5: Set up a version control system where you store all the codes.

6. 6

   Step 6: Do the releases from time to time.

7. 7

   Step 7: State that your project is "Open Source" and which license it is.

8. 8

   Step 8: Set the "write" right on the source version control to default as it is on a wiki.

9. 9

   Step 9: Don't do all the work yourself.

10. 10

    Step 10: Avoid private communications on the developments.

11. 11

    Step 11: Make your project known.

12. 12

    Step 12: Raise funds offering paid documentation and support.

13. 13

    Step 13: Have someone to carry on the project.

Detailed Guide

About the Author