Submitting patches

[Bill Moran]

"Steve Bertrand" <iaccounts at ibctech.ca> wrote:
> I've been tracking some doc pr's, and am a little confused as to how to
> submit patches.
> 
> I am just following the handbook for now, as I have no idea how to write
> manual pages, but don't exactly understand proper procedure for actually
> making a contribution.
> 
> In the pr list, can I just find something I'd like to fix, then send the
> patch to the list, or do I submit it through send-pr?

If you look at the web page showing PRs, there's a "reply to this PR" like
at the bottom.  This is the best way to respond, as it records your
response in the PR database and emails anyone listed as responsible.

> If someone else has already taken responsibility for a pr, is it deemed
> offensive if I submit my own patch even if the pr is still 'open'?

Not offensive, but I would definately email the person responsible to make
sure you're not duplicating effort.  It's possible that the person responsible
is "mostly done" with a fix.

> I'm very excited about making an initial contribution, however, I want to
> ensure I follow proper order as to not offend anyone, and make it as easy
> as possible for everyone.

If it seems you've offended anyone, don't take it personally.  Keep in mind
that most people work on FreeBSD because they enjoy it and/or they believe
in it.  This means when things don't go as planned or expected, folks can
get pretty emotional.  It's just a side effect of being involved in a project
where people _really_ care about what they're doing (and don't just write it
off as "well, I get paid anyway")  I think that's something that often scares
a lot of people away from OSS projects.

-- 
Bill Moran
Potential Technologies
http://www.potentialtech.com