Post AMYg7vHa2XJs6EzZoW by josemanuel@qoto.org
 (DIR) More posts by josemanuel@qoto.org
 (DIR) Post #AMYE5LtTpA40AgSj7Q by someodd@fosstodon.org
       2022-08-15T11:46:52Z
       
       0 likes, 2 repeats
       
       Should I open source something while it's a mess, or should I wait until it's in better shape? What do you do personally? Do you worry about people judging you for a messy project? I'm really interested in the Fosstodon community's perspective on this.I'm sitting on a project where I was hacking a bunch of things together, learning new things (like #nix) and more.
       
 (DIR) Post #AMYH8QrM7MxwIsd3rs by IslandUsurper@fosstodon.org
       2022-08-15T12:21:10Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       @someodd, I’ve seen a trend of some projects staying closed, or at least not accepting contributions, while they are in the design/architecture phase. Usually programming languages, oddly, but sometimes other large projects. This does not sound like your project. :ablobcatangel: I’d say open up the source for two main reasons: learning opportunities for you if someone contributes a new way to do things, and for others as they see how you put things together and fix bugs.
       
 (DIR) Post #AMYIQ0qDgxkmmA2p6m by floppy@fosstodon.org
       2022-08-15T12:35:32Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       @someodd I have similar thoughts for some projects of mine. I think: "Open source that mess" and just be transparent about it being WIP and invite feedback. It's an opportunity to learn.You can address different target audiences at different times. Taking code quality as an example, some people don't care about how the motor works as long as the car works properly. You can invite them to try it now, while potential code contributors maybe better wait for e.g. the release after refactoring.
       
 (DIR) Post #AMYJ67d2qXcpzOxfZQ by floppy@fosstodon.org
       2022-08-15T12:42:22Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       @someodd On some blog (I can't recover anymore unfortunately) I once read the reasoning, why the author turned to sharing thoughts online in the first place. And that was the ideal of learning. One can write endlessly in one's own bubble and never get a fact-check for the validity or quality of one's own work. By  sharing own creations, people can give feedback. The risk is that they might not like it (which may matter or not), but the opportunity is to learn and grow from the feedback.
       
 (DIR) Post #AMYOKAGiKOU20A21aq by Mek101@mstdn.io
       2022-08-15T13:41:43Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @someodd That's what the "alpha" and "beta" lables are for
       
 (DIR) Post #AMYPWL8vp3u59olFSq by momcorp@mstdn.io
       2022-08-15T13:55:07Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @someodd That's what most beginners seem to struggle with: source code can always be fixed with additional commits, bug fixes, refactoring, better specifications, unit-tests, and submitting issues to fix the code later.Open-source now, no one minds and people may help you in the process.
       
 (DIR) Post #AMYTl4ZO7ihlutPsgK by eviloatmeal@linuxrocks.online
       2022-08-15T14:42:24Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @someodd I think if your intention is for the project to have an open source license and accept contributions from others, then it might as well be right away. People would even help you clean up the mess.
       
 (DIR) Post #AMYUeOOg6kBTKwmlBw by tamtararam@chaos.social
       2022-08-15T14:52:35Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @someodd release as a mess but with a big Readme ;)
       
 (DIR) Post #AMYVglhSYp2f1GVgXo by guerda@ruhr.social
       2022-08-15T15:04:09Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @someodd your intention is important. Do you want to create a community? Then I'll advise for making it more presentavle. Do you want to make out available just for users? Just publish it, but take care of a tutorial.Either way, I would consult https://diataxis.fr/ for different documentation needs. Dependent on your target audience, this varies a Lot.
       
 (DIR) Post #AMYg7vHa2XJs6EzZoW by josemanuel@qoto.org
       2022-08-15T17:01:12Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @someodd I think a project is like your house. When you invite someone into it, you don’t want them to see a mess, you clean it up first, so they can feel at home for the evening.So I don’t worry about other people judging my code. I just think it’s good manners to keep it tidy.
       
 (DIR) Post #AMYw4dKFweqanzhHYe by lenzj@fosstodon.org
       2022-08-15T19:59:40Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @someodd Open source it now, but spend time updating the README to make it clear what stage the project is in and where you could really use help/input etc.