Of course you do!
You might think Contributor Day is just for the nerdy types; you know the ones? They type long bits of nonsense on keyboards (in black hoodies).
You’re not wrong, but lots of people have a great time at Contributor Day! Have a look below – are you a Non-Coder, First-Timer, Team-Hopper, Prepared Pro, Social Butterfly or perhaps a new participant type I haven’t thought of?
The Non-Coder
Q: Do I need coding skills?
A: Nope. Some of the busiest people in the room wouldn’t know a semicolon from a salami sandwich.
They might be editing documentation, sketching design ideas, testing features, or organizing projects.
They’re leading entire teams without writing a single line of code! How about it – are you a non-coder organizer type?
The First-Timer
Q: What exactly do you mean, “Contribute”?
A: We all sit around tables, sometimes there’s a motivational you-got-this speech, and then we figure out how we can be part of the huge open-source project we call WordPress.
Each part contributes to the whole – there are documents and translations, best practices and manuals, tutorials and of course – the meat of the thing – the coding!
You do not need to be a coder to contribute! See ‘non-coder’ above.
There are tables of coders and non-coders and all sorts of other things too… for example, we need French speaking people!
Lots of folks show up nervous. They sit down “just to observe,” they say.
But by lunchtime, they’ve published a fix, translated something, or drafted a new tutorial. You’ll meet folks who made their first contribution that morning and are already planning their next one.
The Team-Hopper
Q: What team should I join?
A: Some people wander from table to table all day—not because they’re indecisive, but because every team is doing something fascinating.
You’re welcome to see what is up – especially if this is your first time.
These adventurous types wind up with a little bit of experience in marketing, accessibility, translation, and core development-all in a single day. I really can’t imagine anything better!
The Prepared Pro
Q: How do I get ready?
A: You’ll spot this person right away. They’re already logged into Slack. They have the right accounts set up. And they carry chargers, sticky notes, and snacks for anyone who needs them.
They’ve probably been contributing online for months (or years!) and just treat Contributor Day as a giant in-person meetup. You and I will watch these folks for queues.
The Social Butterfly
Q: What’s the vibe like?
A: While some people are deep in their laptops, the social butterflies are making the rounds. They’re greeting old friends, introducing newcomers, and pulling people into conversations.
These heroes of humanity might not produce a single pull request (we’ll show you what that is) – yet they’re vital for making the day feel welcoming and collaborative.
Did you see yourself among the Contributor Day types?
The best people at Contributor Day are the ones you don’t expect. Except I kinda expect them now. They’re the non-coders leading projects. The first-timers making waves. The multitaskers exploring everything. And of course, you’ll see plenty of hyper-prepared veterans, with a fair complement of chatterboxes to keep the room buzzing.
And here’s the secret: on your very first Contributor Day, you might just become one of them.
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