Monday, May 23, 2011

The Python Core Mentorship Program

Jesse Noller recently announced the formation of the Python Core Mentorship program. The idea behind the program is to help programmers, including students and developers from other projects, connect with experienced contributors who serve as mentors to ease them into Python Core development.

Contributors Wanted

The mentors will help people regardless of experience level by bringing them up to speed, answering questions, and giving guidance as needed in a non-confrontational and welcoming way. The contributors will receive guidance through the entire contribution process, including discussions on the related mailing lists, the bug tracker, Mercurial, code reviews, and much more.

Early Success

The program already has been successful, and the participants have actively committed a number of patches. There have also been several constructive discussions on the mailing list, helping guide people in the right direction for a variety of issues.

Code of Conduct

The program has a code of conduct explained on the website that aims to assuage concerns many new contributors have when interacting with experienced developers and mailing lists on contribution in general. Jesse and the other mentors hope that this program can act as a model for other projects long-term, not just benefiting Python-Core. They also want the program to help increase the overall diversity of the contributors to Python.

Signing Up

The program is run via the mailing list and has a clear, concise website devoted to it. If you would like to join to ask questions and begin on the path of core contribution, or even if you are an experienced developer (even experienced in Python-Core) looking to ask questions you're worried about asking on other lists, this is an excellent opportunity to jump in, ask and get your feet wet!