RailsBridge

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h1. NEXT BUGMASH JANUARY 16-17, 2010

h1. BugMash

Have you ever wondered how you could get started contributing to the core Rails code? Have you been watching the growth of RailsBridge and wondering where you could fit in? Well, wonder no longer: we have an answer to both of those questions. Announcing:

h2. The First Rails and RailsBridge BugMash

The idea is simple: RailsBridge has a lot of energy. Rails, being a volunteer effort, needs help to bring version 3.0 to release. With the help of some Rails Core team members, we're going to see what we can do to move Rails 3.0 towards a successful beta, encourage more people to get involved with the Rails source, and have some fun.

Some of the Bridgers will be organizing a face-to-face way for BugMash participants to come together ([[BugMash#Teams|Teams]]), but there's no need to be there to be a part of it. We'll also have a room open on IRC, and people who are familiar with the Rails internals will be available to help point you in the right direction. We're going to do everything we can to make it easy to start contributing to Rails.

What can _you_ do to help? We're asking you to *do one thing* to make Rails 3 better. Some ideas:

* Fix a known issue

* Report a bug

* Make sure your favorite gem or plugin still works. If not, fork it and make it so.

* Write a blog post about a certain component

* Write some documentation

* Get an app up and running and document what you had to do to upgrade.

* Create a screencast

We'll have a way for you to register your work up by the start of the BugMash. Anyone who contributes in any way to the success of Rails 3 will be entered in the [[BugMash#Prizes|Prize]] drawing.

h2. Official BugMash hours

Rails contributors are located all over the world, so we're going to define an extended weekend for the BugMash. So we're going to run from Saturday noon in New Zealand (00:00:00 January 16 GMT) to Sunday midnight on the US West coast (07:00:00 January 18 GMT). That should give everyone who wants to be involved plenty of time to participate.

h2. Resources

* Downloadable "Rails BugMash Guide":http://railsbridge.org/BugMashGuide.pdf (PDF format)

* [[Pre-flight Checklist]]

* [[BugMashCheatSheet]]

There are also some resources aimed at helping you fix Rails bugs, though that's not the focus of the January BugMash:

* [[BugMashFlowchart]]

* "Contributing to Rails":http://guides.rubyonrails.org/contributing_to_rails.html

* "Tickets tagged with 'bugmash'":https://rails.lighthouseapp.com/projects/8994-ruby-on-rails/tickets/bins/41908

* There are official Rails Continuous Integration servers which test against multiple interpreters and databases.  See the Continuous Integration section in the [[BugMashFlowchart]]

* The Rails "Continuous Integration Server Setup Notes":http://github.com/rails/rails/blob/master/ci/ci_setup_notes.txt can be helpful in getting the various databases configured

* http://railscasts.com/episodes/113-contributing-to-rails-with-git

* [[BugMashStats]]

h2. Teams

We're not doing team-based scoring, but we do have people getting together in various cities. If you're getting together a team for the next BugMash, please add it here:

* (to be determined)

If you're interested in one of these, or want to organize your own in-person event, drop by the #railsbridge IRC channel to chat.

h2. Prizes 

* $300 credit from "37signals":http://37signals.com. for "Basecamp":http://basecamphq.com or "Campfire":http://campfire_now_.

* 1 annual subscription to "Less Accounting":http://lessaccounting.com from "Less Everything":http://lesseverything.com/

* 1 year's small plan from "GitHub":http://www.github.com

* 1 copy of the "Rails Freelancing Handbook":http://www.railsfreelancebook.com/ from "Mike Gunderloy":http://afreshcup.com/

* 1 copy of the "Rails Rescue Handbook":http://www.railsrescuebook.com/ from "Mike Gunderloy":http://afreshcup.com

* An ebook (3 prizes will be awarded) from the "Pragmatic Bookshelf":http://www.pragprog.com/ (selection excludes the Pragmatic Programmer and the SitePoint collection)

h2. IRC support

We'll have experienced Rails developers and core team members available on IRC for as many hours during the BugMash as humanly possible. If you're having trouble getting started, want to brainstorm about a particular ticket, or can help other people out, please come by and join us. We'll be hanging out on the #railsbridge channel on Freenode IRC. Our [[IRCGuide]] can help you get connected.

We also have a bot who's helping us keep track of who's working on what. Details at [[BugMashBotUsage]]. (But we probably won't use the bot for the Rails 3 BugMash).

h2. Scoring

1 point for each thing that you do to help Rails 3 along. In the case of any disputes, the decisions of the BugMash team are final.

For every point, you'll get 1 ticket in the lottery to distribute the prizes.

h2. Past Events

* [[2009-08]]

* [[2009-09]]

h2. Participants Testimonials

* "Rails BugMash on RailsBridge":http://blog.eizesus.com/2009/8/rails-bugmash-how-i-fell-in-love-again - ".. witnessed the mission and statement of #railsbridge coming true in the very first time they were put to the test. ..." - Elad.

* "Lessons I learned about Rails from the BugMash":http://ingraminternet.com/posts/3-lessons-learned-about-rails-from-bugmash-09 - I describe the lessons that I learned during the BugMash about Rails and the rails community - Philip.

* "Rails Bugmash August 2009: Before, During & After":http://www.allanweb.ca/2009/08/11/rails-bugmash-august-2009-before-during-after/ - Peer

* "Rails Bugmash: sweet":http://elisehuard.wordpress.com/2009/08/16/rails-bugmash-the-roundup/ - "Not only was it very instructive, it was also lots of fun, like resolving chinese puzzles in group, and against a clock. " - Elise

* "fixed bugs for fun: Rails BugMash":http://www.dira.ro/blog/2009/08/will-fix-bugs-for-fun-rails-bugmash/ - "Big Kudos to RailsBridge for organizing the event and easing the ‘contributing to Rails learning curve’. It allowed me to use my Ruby & Rails skills to the max, even if it was the first time I contributed." - dira