[POLL] What’s the main reason you contribute to Open Source? REP/ LEARN/ IMPACT/ DEPENDS

Here we are—mid-Hacktoberfest 2025! 🎃🍂

Whether you’re shipping your first PR or mentoring newcomers, I’m curious: what’s your main driver for contributing to OSS right now? Vote below and drop a comment with your favorite repo or a tip for first-timers 👇

Contributing to Open Source means different things to each of us. Here’s what I’d love to learn from you:

▪️Build reputation & brand 🌟📣

You share your work publicly, earn credibility, and make your expertise discoverable (recruiters, maintainers, speakers’ bureaus).

▪️Learn from the best 🧠📚🔁

Code reviews from seasoned maintainers, real-world patterns, and a feedback loop that’s hard to match internally.

▪️Create real-world impact 🚀🌍

Your PRs improve libraries, docs, and tools used by thousands—sometimes millions—of developers and users.

It depends 🤷‍. Case-by-case ⚖️

▪️Time, employer policy, license fit, project health, or whether the contribution aligns with your personal goals.

🗣️ “Programs are meant to be read by humans and only incidentally for computers to execute.” — Harold Abelson & Gerald Jay Sussman

(…and Open Source maximizes those human eyes 👀)

#OpenSource #OSS #DeveloperCommunity #Java #Learning #Career #Impact #DevRel #SoftwareCraftsmanship #Poll #Hacktoberfest #DeveloperCommunity #Career

hacktoberfest: https://hacktoberfest.com