5 Ways to Contribute to Simutrans Without Coding

[vilvoh]

Now that we're discussing about the needed of increasing the community with active members, I've found these great articles about ways of contributing to OS projects, for all those ones that want to do something for Simutrans but don't know where to start. Now the list. I just Copy&Paste from original source.

1.Contribute quality: help to make a better game, better looking and with new features

• Submit bug reports
• Suggest new reasonable features and options
• Suggest ways to improve the game (maybe comparing it to similar OS or comercial projects)
• Submit some artwork (icons, cursors, logos, paks, sets of objects) or improve the existing ones if it's possible
• Correct spelling and grammar mistakes in documentation
• Help maintain a simutrans community website (Forum, Wiki, Guides, Maps, Addons, Simutranslator)

2.Contribute documentation: In some areas, Simutrans have a poor, outdated or insufficient documentation

• Help write good documentation (guides, tutorials, howtos, videotutorials, new ingmae help texts, wiki articles)
• Translate the documentation (ingame help, wiki articles, guides, program text) into another language
• Read existing documentation, follow the examples, and make corrections
• Create diagrams, screen-shots, and graphics for documentation
• Develop spelling and grammar style conventions for documentors
• Build a glossary of technical terms (so non geek people can understand)
• Convert documentation into more useful formats (i.e. Wiki articles)

3.Contribute support: everybody need it at least once. Let programmer do their work while you help other people

• Answer questions on forums
• Help other people learn how to use Simutrans
• Write HOWTOs and post them in related forums (i.e. Simutrans discussion board) or your own blog

4.Contribute money: many Open Source projects have a donate button or a shop where to buy related products, but there are other ways to contribute money

• Donate some money (Fortunately, not necessary yet)
• Contribute hardware for the forum server
• Contribute bandwidth for the forum server
• Advertise Simutrans in your web site if it shows ads

5.Contribute publicity: If Simutrans gets popular there will be more people wanting to contribute

• Package Simutrans for a particular Linux distro (or other OS like MacOS or Windows)
• Write reviews
• Write about new ways of playing Simutrans

6.Contribute appreciation: it's an extra way to contribute but may be the most important

• Express your appreciation to developers (through email or forum post)
• Be polite when reporting bugs or asking for new features; developers has no obligation to do it after all
• Send the programmers post cards
• Give a project or developer a gift (some have wish lists for this...)
• if you see a Simutrans developer sad and just walking down the street, give him/her a hug ... surely he/she will appreciate it
• Do not ask if it's OpenSource or not? DEFINETLY, IT IS!!
• Do not ask for multiplayer. It has not been implemented yet. If you dare to start the development process coding some parts....

I think that could be interesting to translate it and then post it at as many language subforums as possible, as a way to recruit people for the project. If they see how to contribute, who knows, perhaps they dare to join us.

Some references:

• Original source
• HOWTO Pay for Free Software
• How to Contribute to Open Source Without Coding
• How To Write a Good Howto

[Combuijs]

5 Ways to Contribute to Simutrans Without Coding

Hmm, I think that should be 31 ways  . I doubt if Prissi will be overjoyed with thousands of postcards...

You could try to "translate" it in Simutrans terms and then put it in the language subforums. This is just too general.

[vilvoh]

Good idea, I'll try that when I have time... which will be in five minutes or so....

EDIT: Done.