WordPress is a free and open-source software that relies on thousands of contributors volunteering their time to improve the project and push new updates. Without the help of these contributors, WordPress would simply not be the software it is today.
Any time you receive a notification that an update is available, that’s thanks to the developers around the world that investigated bugs, squashed them, and tightened up the latest version. The volunteer team behind WordPress makes sure that projects develop as rapidly as they do into wonderful solutions that benefit everyone.
No entanto, ser voluntário nestes projectos nem sempre é fácil. Embora os programadores tenham sempre roteiros, os utilizadores comuns deparam-se frequentemente com inúmeros problemas ao utilizá-los. Por este motivo, contribuir para projectos de código aberto é uma situação invulgar, mas fascinante, em que todos ganham: os utilizadores resolvem os problemas com que se deparam e, por sua vez, para todos os outros, ao mesmo tempo que aperfeiçoam as suas competências.
For each line of code we add, we refine our hard skills in the specific technical fields we’ve been targeting. Because of the friendly, generous nature of the community, more experienced users are eager to share their expertise and help others improve their talents.
But writing code isn’t the only way you can contribute to WordPress. It’s made up of 17 different teams, many of which require other skills! Let’s take a look at what being a contributor involves, how you can take part, and what it means to be sponsored for your participation.
The responsibilities of volunteer contributors
Uma das grandes vantagens de contribuir é que, à medida que os nossos conhecimentos aumentam, as nossas contribuições ocasionais evoluem para um trabalho mais contínuo e constante.
Seeing your own skills develop is highly satisfying and you can quickly start answering newcomers’ questions with ease, funnily enough, they’re usually the same questions we had ourselves when we first started.
What’s even more fulfilling is that you end up mentoring other users, getting the opportunity to share what we’ve learned, and even teaming up with other volunteers to collaborate on projects that started out as opportunities and quickly became necessities for the WordPress ecosystem.
Even though the work we do is voluntary, we’re still all working towards a very specific set of deadlines and are of course, expected to complete the work on time.
It’s not unusual to find yourself juggling multiple tasks and trying to find a balance between voluntary work, and mentoring and supervising other volunteers in your spare time.
One example is that people often have strong opinions about projects that need an instant fix. This is why the community often reminds users of its voluntary nature; it runs on the free time and selflessness of volunteers.
As a voluntary translation editor myself, it’s not uncommon to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of pending translation work that needs to be done and I’ve found myself dedicating more time than what was healthy to maintain a proper work-life balance.
Encontrar o equilíbrio
Quando Weglot me convidou para participar no programa Cinco para o Futuro, senti-me profundamente honrado com o reconhecimento.
O Five for the Future, lançado em 2014, é um programa que incentiva a comunidade WordPress a contribuir para o crescimento da plataforma, alocando 5% dos seus recursos para o seu desenvolvimento. Foi concebido para manter o ecossistema dinâmico, próspero e em constante evolução. Os contribuidores têm a oportunidade de identificar talentos emergentes, ajudar a moldar o crescimento do WordPress e deixar sua marca no futuro da web aberta.
À medida que o tempo foi passando, tornou-se claro que o programa tinha vantagens ainda maiores: apesar de ter assumido mais responsabilidades para concluir o trabalho patrocinado, achei o trabalho realmente gratificante e pude ver o impacto das minhas contribuições. Por sua vez, aprendi a encontrar uma forma de trabalhar mais equilibrada, disciplinada e harmoniosa que me permitia concluir as minhas tarefas de colaborador, mas que não me sobrecarregava.
Now that I have the responsibility to manage my time in ways that were both beneficial to me and my work, I could see more easily if I was overexerting myself, which easily happens when committed to other obligations like family, other work, and health.
Last but not the least, being sponsored gives me a great excuse to turn what I love—contributing to the community—into a commitment. This wouldn’t have been possible without the sponsorship.
Liberdade e sustentabilidade
As part of the Polyglots team and as a translation editor for the Portuguese WordPress Community, Weglot specifically asked me to continue doing the great work I was already involved in.
Foi um pedido de força, carregado de bondade e reconhecimento pelas contribuições que dei. E deu-me a bênção de continuar a fazer o que eu gostava.
This engagement of Weglot and other companies in 5fF is a cornerstone in the sustainability and health of the community of contributors, which powers the open-source WordPress ecosystem.
Se estiveres interessado em tornar-te um colaborador do WordPress, recomendo vivamente que procures a área em que podes ajudar aqui.
Also posted in Weglot blog.