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Month of LibreOffice, November 2017: First week’s results

On the 1st of November we started a new Month of LibreOffice, celebrating contributions from our worldwide community. Everyone who helps out with the project gets a chance to win a cool sticker. So, one week in, how are we doing?

Well, so far 137 stickers have been awarded! That’s a great start, and you can see all the details on this wiki page. It shows usernames from various tools used in LibreOffice development, and we update it every day. You can see that we’ve had code contributions from several people – but of course, these are just community contributions. Click here to see full development stats including patches from people who’re paid to work on the codebase.

Meanwhile, our QA and localisation communities have been especially busy in the run-up to LibreOffice 6.0, which is due to be released in late January. And then our diligent Ask LibreOffice community has done great work answering questions from users and helping them to fix problems. Finally, we’re seeing useful documentation updates (especially on the wiki) and word-spreading on Twitter as well.

Thanks to everyone who has helped out so far! But there are still three weeks to go – so if you want to improve LibreOffice and get a shiny sticker for your laptop or PC, read on to see how you can help…

How to get a sticker

There are many ways you can help the LibreOffice project and claim a sticker:

  • Help to confirm bugs: 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 5.4.2”. (Make sure you’re using the latest version of LibreOffice.)
  • Contribute 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!
  • Translate the 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.
  • Write 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.
  • Answer questions from users: Over on Ask LibreOffice there are many users looking for help with the suite. We’re keeping an eye on that site so if you give someone useful advice, you can claim a shiny sticker.
  • Spread the word: Tell everyone about LibreOffice on Twitter! 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!)

Event reports: LibreOffice in Cyprus and Czech Republic

Throughout the year, LibreOffice community members attend events around the world, helping to promote free software and open standards. We’re really grateful for their work! Today we have a couple of reports from recent events – and we start with Muhammet Kara who has been busy in Cyprus:

I attended the Free Software and Linux Seminar on October 20 at METU NCC (Northern Cyprus Campus). 60 people were there, all university students, and I talked about many topics: free Software, Linux, LibreOffice, ways to contribute, and opportunities like Google Summer of Code, Outreachy, and LibreLadies. Then I finished by answering their questions about Free Software, Linux, and Pardus. The excitement of the attendees was promising!

Then, on October 21 at METU NCC, I helped to organise a LibreOffice Developer Workshop. Many people were interested in joining this session, but I asked the organisers to bring a small group, so 10+ people attended. We formed a Telegram group with the attendees so that they can cooperate, and I can provide some hand-holding while they got their first patches merged. (So far two of them have had their patches submitted, reviewed, and ready to be merged. The first ones will also help the others to follow.) Overall, I am happy about the results.

LinuxDays 2017 in Prague

Next up, we have a report from Stanislav Horáček about a recent event in the Czech Republic:

Zdeněk Crhonek and I attended LinuxDays, the biggest Linux event in the Czech Republic. A simple LibreOffice booth was managed there – here’s what it looked like (photo by Lukáš Jelínek):

We got useful feedback, and most of our visitors were satisfied with LibreOffice – there were fewer complaints about document compatibility than in previous years. In addition, there was interest in how development works and the role of The Document Foundation. We were surprised by some very specific questions (headless mode, Base, remote documents…) and it’s clear that LibreOffice Online is still generally not well known.

There was also a meeting of Czech localisation communities (Mozilla, GNOME, OpenSUSE) – we agreed to continue with cooperation (terminology and style consolidation, and an initiative to renew language dictionaries). Overall, I have a feeling that the Linux/FOSS community here is strong and growing, and it is great that LibreOffice can be part of it.

Thanks to Muhammet and Stanislav for their great work! We really appreciate your help spreading the word. And to others reading this: if you want to get involved as well and promote LibreOffice in your country, join our marketing mailing list and we’ll give you a hand!

The November 2017 Month of LibreOffice begins!

Six months ago we ran a Month of LibreOffice, crediting contributions all across the project – from development and documentation through to QA and translations. And today we’re starting another one! If you use LibreOffice and want to help improve it, you can join our community and get a shiny sticker for your PC, laptop or other kit:

(And if you already have one from the last Month of LibreOffice, now’s you chance to get another!) Over the next four weeks, we’ll be keeping track of contributions to the project, and add your name to this wiki page if you help out. The page will be updated daily, and everyone listed there can claim a sticker! Read on to find out how you can get involved…

How to get a sticker

There are many ways you can help the LibreOffice project and claim a sticker:

  • Help to confirm bugs: 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 5.4.2”. (Make sure you’re using the latest version of LibreOffice.)
  • Contribute 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!
  • Translate the 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.
  • Write 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.
  • Answer questions from users: Over on Ask LibreOffice there are many users looking for help with the suite. We’re keeping an eye on that site so if you give someone useful advice, you can claim a shiny sticker.
  • Spread the word: Tell everyone about LibreOffice on Twitter! 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!)

So there’s plenty to do! 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 Twitter account over the next four weeks!

LibreOffice Conference attendee report: Brett Cornwall

Brett helps out with TDF’s infrastructure, and joined us at our recent LibreOffice Conference in Rome. Here’s what he had to say about the event – and a couple of photos too!

2017’s LibreOffice conference marked my first visit outside of the United States. I arrived some days before the conference so that I might explore a city that has contributed so much to western culture.

Both the city’s cleanliness and transportation impressed me – I’m used to New York City’s standard of cleanliness. A genuine surprise smacked me when I noticed that pedestrians have authority over cars on smaller streets; whereas pedestrians find a window in which to cross between cars in NYC, Rome pedestrians are expected to strut their tender meat-bags into moving traffic and expect cars to stop for them. While the practice of assertion is easy enough to pick up, I can’t help but wonder whether this is a significant cause of accidents.

I was ill-prepared for long walks down cobblestone pathways: I’ve experienced flat pavement for long enough that I didn’t even think that the city would be plastered in cobblestone. Perhaps this is why women wear more practical footwear in Rome than in the States.

The most enjoyable presentations during the conference typically featured education and TDF’s roles, successes, and failures. Such talks illuminated the challenges that face those that deploy LibreOffice on a large scale.

The camaraderie exhibited by the members was a great inspiration. A well-organized group fixated upon a common cause brings change, and I saw many people fixated on success.

Working on LibreOffice has given me opportunities to learn tools previously unknown. I have since adopted some of them outside of work here, and I’m sure that I’ll learn more.

This is the first time in many years that I ‘joined up’ with a high-profile community. I’m glad I did, and I hope that I help LibreOffice to succeed in making a kick-ass office suite.

I would like to thank Sophie Gautier for all of her hard work and for helping me get to Rome; Guilhem Moulin for recommending my invitation and entrusting me with work; and TDF as a whole for welcoming me into the community. Thank you!

Thanks to you too, Brett – we’re glad to hear you had a great time! And to others reading this who attended the conference, drop us a line with your experiences (and some photos!) and we’ll post them here as well.

LibreOffice contributor interview: Franklin Weng

At the recent LibreOffice Conference in Rome, we took the opportunity to meet up and talk to various contributors to the project, like Franklin Weng from Taiwan. Franklin is helping to get LibreOffice and the Open Document Format (ODF) adopted by governments and enterprises. In this interview, he talks about his strategy and experiences. (English subtitles available – click the Settings cog.)

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