Expectations for Open Source Contributors

We wanted to clarify the expectations for those students who cannot get course credit and want to volunteer as an open source software contributor. We would be grateful for any appropriate contribution, big or small and we put together these expectations to avoid any exploitations of open source contributors.

1. Make sure that this contribution benefits you and you are clear what you would like to get out of it. Talk to us to ensure that what you are expecting is going to be able to be met.
2. There are no expectations of how long you will be able to contribute for. You can stop at any time. Life happens, and you are volunteering. If you can, let us know if you do not want to contribute anymore so you don’t get messages inappropriately.
3. There are no expectations of how often you contribute. You can work when it suits your schedule and your motivation.
4. There are no expectations of how much you should contribute. You should decide what is appropriate for your schedule and motivation.
5. Expect us to check in from time to time to ensure you are still happy to contribute, and to ensure you are getting a benefit out of it too.
6. We still expect you to abide by our Code of Conduct.
7. We expect that you will tell us if something is wrong so that we can help appropriately.
8. We want you to have fun, learn new things, and feel part of a community! Please let us know if you aren’t feeling this.
9. We will provide you with a “Certificate of Contribution” that is a permanent record of your contribution.

Comparison to the Student Internship with course credit

How does an open source contributor differ from the student intern who gets course credit? We have explained the differences below.

Situation	Open Source Contributor	Student Intern with course credit
Must complete all hours as specified in contract	N/A	mandatory
Must attend weekly meetings with supervisor	encouraged but optional	mandatory
Must attend weekly meetings with other students	encouraged but optional	mandatory
Must attend weekly meetings with sister project	encouraged but optional	mandatory
Must complete summary report	encouraged but optional	mandatory
Must provide a final presentation	encouraged but optional	mandatory
Must update wiki and documentation as appropriate	encouraged but optional	mandatory
Must work on an open source project	mandatory	optional
Has access to WEHI resources	no	yes