participating in open source projects

[aspirant]

Hi, I am new to open source development. Plz clarify my doubts and give me suggestions.
How to earn a LIVING by participating in open source projects?
Can u suggest any PHP-related open source development sites?
What roles are available in open source development?
What role can a beginner play while doing open source projects?
Thank you all for ur help.

[MarkR]

aspirant wrote:

Hi, I am new to open source development. Plz clarify my doubts and give me suggestions.
How to earn a LIVING by participating in open source projects?

Typically by selling solutions that involve deploying those projects commercially with a support contract.

That is, if your employer won't pay you to do them.

What roles are available in open source development?

Roughly the same ones as in closed-source development.

What role can a beginner play while doing open source projects?

Testing, writing documentation. Although you aren't going to get very far if you write "u" instead of "you".

mark

[zabmilenko]

You could sign up at SourceForge.net and check out the help-wanted page to see who needs a hand, but please be a serious coder before you commit yourself to someone's serious project.

All to often this kind of thing pops up:

<nucoder> hi! ready to code. where is the source?
<PrjMgr> Log onto the cvs server at dev.blahblah.example.com and check out the module Revision3
<PrjMgr> Steer clear of the head branch for now. It's full of garbage
<nucoder> uhm.. what is cvs?
<DsgrntldDsgnr> Freaking noob. f-ing google it!
..
..
6 months later
..
..
<PrjMgr> nucoder, when are you going to commit some work?
<nucoder> sorry. have rl issues right now

/me cries