Author: Mike Saunders

LibreOffice is made by a community of developers and supporters around the world. This month, we want to say a big thanks to everyone who helps out – and encourage more people to join our friendly community as well! So how are we going to do this?

Well, everyone who contributes can claim an awesome sticker pack at the end of the month:

And even better, we’ll also choose 10 contributors at random to receive an exclusive glass LibreOffice mug:

How to take part

So, let’s get started! There are many ways you can help out – and you don’t need to be a developer. For instance, you can be a…

• Handy Helper, answering questions from users: over on Ask LibreOffice there are many users looking for help with the office suite. We’re keeping an eye on that site so if you give someone useful advice, you can claim your shiny stickers.

• First Responder, helping to confirm new bug reports: go to our Bugzilla page and look for new bugs. If you can recreate one, add a comment like “CONFIRMED on Windows 10 and LibreOffice 6.2.3”. (Make sure you’re using the latest version of LibreOffice!)

• Drum Beater, spreading the word: tell everyone about LibreOffice on Twitter or Mastodon! Just say why you love it or what you’re using it for, add the #libreoffice hashtag, and at the end of the month you can claim a sticker. (We have a maximum of 100 stickers for this category, in case the whole internet starts tweeting/tooting!)

• Globetrotter, translating the user interface: LibreOffice is available in a wide range of languages, but its interface translations need to be kept up-to-date. Or maybe you want to translate the suite to a whole new language? Get involved here.

• Code Cruncher, contributing source code: The codebase is big, but there are lots of places to get involved with small jobs. See our Developers page on the website and this page on the wiki to get started. Once you’ve submitted a patch, if it gets merged we’ll send you a sticker!

• Docs Doctor, writing documentation: Another way to earn a badge is to help the LibreOffice documentation team. Whether you want to update the online help or add chapters to the handbooks, here’s where to start.

So there’s plenty to do! As the contributions come in, we’ll be updating this page every day with usernames. So dive in, get involved and help make LibreOffice better for millions of people around the world – and enjoy your sticker as thanks from us. We’ll be posting regular updates on this blog and our Mastodon and Twitter accounts over the next four weeks!

Check out our regular summary of events and updates in the last month!

• We reported back from the Chemnitzer Linux-Tage 2019, where the LibreOffice community had a stand with flyers, stickers and other goodies. We also held some talks about LibreOffice and The Document Foundation – it was great to meet so many passionate Free Software fans there!

• In other event-related news, we announced the first Latin America LibreOffice Conference. This will be held at the Facultad Politécnica de Universidad Nactional de Assunción (FPUNA) in Asunción, Paraguay on July 19 (Friday) and 20 (Sat).

• On April 8, we had a chat with Biraj Karmakar from the Indian community. Biraj helps out with translations and QA (quality assurance) – so if you’re reading this, are based in India and want to join our project, let us know and we can put you in touch with the community there!

• Throughout the month, we organised two C++ workshops, to explore features in the language (with the help of experienced developers). The first focused on linked lists, while the second also looked at stack classes, PQs and heaps.

• On April 18, LibreOffice 6.2.3 was released with over 90 bug and regression fixes. A big thanks to our worldwide community and certified developers for making the release possible!

• In another Community Member Monday interview, we Roman Kuznetsov from Russia told us about his experiences joining the project. “I got valuable experience communicating with a worldwide community, along with some practice in English, working in Bugzilla and making good bug reports”, he said.

• Finally, we geared up preparations for a new Month of LibreOffice! This time, along with sticker packs for all contributions, we’ll also give out 10 awesome LibreOffice mugs to randomly selected participants at the end of the month. But how can you take part? Well, just check this blog tomorrow for all the details!

Keep in touch – follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Mastodon. Like what we do? Support our community with a donation – or join us and help to make LibreOffice even better!

LibreOffice is made by hundreds of people around the world: volunteers working from home, certified developers who are part of our commercial ecosystem, and other supporters and users. Throughout the year, they add new features to the software, test them, and help us to make each release polished and reliable. We’re incredibly appreciative of their efforts!

Now, if you’re a regular user of LibreOffice, you can give us a hand! In May 2019, we’re running a Month of LibreOffice – a campaign to credit all contributions to the software and community. Everyone who helps out can claim an awesome sticker pack, and this time round we have an extra bonus: 10 contributors will be chosen at random at the end, and will receive an exclusive LibreOffice glass mug:

While your help is important for the LibreOffice project, it’s also good for you as well! If you’re interested in a possible future career in software – such as programming, QA, user interface design, documentation, user support and other topics – then joining the Month of LibreOffice is great for you too:

• Build up your skills
• Get experience in a well-known software project
• Make new contacts
• Put it all on your CV!

So, what happens next? Well, on May 1st we’ll post full details on this blog about how you can get involved – so stay tuned! And follow us on Mastodon, Twitter, Facebook and Reddit for more updates. See you soon!