Contributing to CAT-SOOP
It's also worth mentioning that contributing to CAT-SOOP does not necessarily mean writing code; there are lots of other ways to help out, too. The easiest and best way to contribute to CAT-SOOP is to use it, to report any issues you find, and to tell your friends/colleagues if you like it!
But please see below for some guidelines about contributing more directly to CAT-SOOP, and please don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions.
In general, we use the two mailing lists, catsoop-users@mit.edu and
catsoop-dev@mit.edu to develop conversations around ideas and to help to turn
those ideas into actions. Everyone is welcome to contribute to that process.
Do you have a question about using CAT-SOOP, or a request for a new feature?
We're happy to help! The best way to get help is to send a message to
catsoop-users@mit.edu.
Did you find a bug?
With the exception of security issues (see below), there are two main ways to
submit bug reports or feature requests: using the issue tracker
directly, or sending a message to catsoop-dev@mit.edu.
When reporting a bug, please be as descriptive as you can, and please try to
include an example that demonstrates the issue if possible. Among other
things, it is helpful to know what version of catsoop you're running, what you
were trying to do, and the precise nature of the failure mode (including error
messages, if any).
In order to help minimize the effect of security issues, if you have found a security vulnerability, we ask that you please do not post about it
publicly until we have had a reasonable amount of time to fix the issue.
Instead, please send e-mail directly to Adam at hz@mit.edu,
optionally encrypting your message with his public
key.
Are you interested in contributing code?
If you are interested in contributing code to catsoop (to fix a bug or
implement a new feature, for example), a good place to start is to suggest your
change via the catsoop-dev@mit.edu mailing list, and to read through the hacker's
guide for information on the process for contributing code,
as well as information about coding style, tests, etc.
Do you want to contribute to the documentation?
Contributions to documentation are especially appreciated!
If you are comfortable doing so, the best way to submit documentation changes
is by the same process used for code, as described in the hacker's
guide. But documentation changes in any format are more than
welcome! Feel free just to mail your changes/suggestions (in any format) to
the catsoop-dev@catsoop.mit.edu).