This open-source project welcomes many types of community contributions, like:
- translations of the GDRC into other languages
- templates for sharing the GDRC with lawmakers and influences
- code reviews and test suite additions
- transposition to specific national / transnational legal systems
- detailed analysis of each clause
If you would like to make a contribution, please read this guide carefully.
This project's source material and code is currently hosted and managed on GitHub.
To contribute, you need a GitHub Free account (full details). Please refer to GitHub's documentation for any questions about how to get started.
Before you begin on any contributions, check the list of open issues first. Someone else may have already started work on the same thing, or you might find people to collaborate with on your idea.
If no existing issues are relevant, you can start a discussion about any proposed change by creating a new issue. Each issue should be focused on a single topic. Use a descriptive but brief title, like "Translation into Esperanto" or "Transposition to Florin legal code". This alerts the community you would like to make a contribution, lets you vet ideas, and provides a space for discussion while work is in progress.
If you are unfamiliar with working in repositories like this, this is also a great place to ask for guidance on the best way to proceed.
Use the "Fork" button to create a clone of the repo in your own account. This gives you a workspace for making your changes, and also contributes to the decentralization of the project. The original repository is now known as the "upstream" repo.
Please make your changes to the project on a branch in your fork. Create a new branch (from main) for each individual issue that you are working on.
On your branch, make your changes or add new files to the repo as needed.
If the upstream repo changes in the meantime, you will be able to sync those changes to your own main branch, and merge into your working branch.
When creating or updating files, be very careful to follow any pre-existing formatting of each type of file. For example:
- Files should be created in the proper directories.
- File names should follow existing conventions.
- All translations should be plain text (
.txt) files with one line for each Digital Right.
Once you have completed your updates, commit your changes to the branch in your fork. Multiple commits can be part of your proposed change. Review the final result, and ensure it is ready to send to the upstream repo.
Sync any upstream changes, and merge into your working branch if necessary.
When you changes are ready, create a pull request. This notifies the GDRC team that you would like to have your changes reviewed, and potentially incorporated into the main project. Ensure that the "destination" is set as the upstream repository (not your own fork). The "head branch" is the working branch that holds your proposed changes.
Write a short title for your PR (less than 50 characters), and a detailed description of your changes. If there is an associated issue number, include that as the first line of your description, using this format (but replacing the issue number with the correct digits):
Resolves #4200
Your PR will be reviewed by community members and the team. Stand by ready to respond to any questions or comments about your changes. If you notice other PRs that are open, see if you can offer a review or feedback on the proposed changes of others.
When your PR is reviewed and approved by the GDRC team, it will be merged into the main branch of the project.
Congrats, you are now an official contributor! What will you work on next?