Hi, to help new contributors get their first contribution into Guix I think it would be good to do this:
1. create a new private mailing list or mailing alias guix-ment...@gnu.org 2. ask for experienced Guix contributors who are committed to helping new contributors to subscribe to the list 3. update the Contributing section in the manual (and the website) to suggest Cc-ing guix-ment...@gnu.org for a first contribution. 4. have subscribers to guix-ment...@gnu.org “claim” a contribution within 48 hours, to avoid dilution of responsibilit. Every contribution must be acknowledged. Mentors would then not merely review the submission but shepherd it, making necessary modifications and push the adjusted patches as soon as possible. The goal is not to do the usual review but to create quick successes, a great first impression. I recently contributed my first R package to CRAN, and I received an automatic response that a human reviewer would get back to me within x days. This was a great experience, because I didn’t feel like I dropped off a package into the void. Expectations were managed and a process outlined that set the course for the whole interaction. Our track record with regard to review is not great, and that harm first contributors more than anyone else. Having dedicated mentors who agree to responding and claiming a contribution within 48 hours addresses this problem. I cannot commit to reviewing enough patches that come in on guix-patches, but I sure can promise to join the guix-mentors list and take on and shepherd first contributions. What do you think about this? -- Ricardo