[gnome-love] newbie

[Florian Rivoal <frivoal yahoo fr>]

Hi all gnome lovers,

I have been enjoying the world of free software, and gnome in
particular, for a couple of years now.

I work as a software developper for a large japanese electronics
company, but the stuff I work on is only moderately exciting, doesn't
help me learn much, and besides, it is not GNU / linux related.

I like coding, I like free software, and I like gnome. So why didn't I
already contribute tones of things? Well, I am kind of stuck at
boot-strap stage.

"look for something to fix in bugzilla, and sumbit a patch when you're
done" seems to be the recommanded way to get started, But I don't really
feel like it. It sounds like a reasonable way to get involved in gnome
for someone who is already proficient with GTK and all the other gnome
libs and tools, but it makes kind of a huge first step when you're not.
And I am not. Of course, I'll have to learn all this sooner or later,
but I'd prefer to learn while doing, instead of learning before doing.

So what I'd like to find is a team or a hacker in the following
situation:
* has some stuff that while non urgent, will have to be be done / fixed
sooner or later
* kinds of lack the time to take care of it properly
* enjoys transmitting knowledge and giving advices

I'd be very glad to find such a "mentor", who would tell me something
like: "So we're working on *****, and here is basicaly how it works:
[...]. But the **** module would need some love to get to the point
where it can do ****. I suggest you try to *** using ***. And get back
to me if there's something you're not sure about. I'll point you to the
proper doc, or explain if there is no such doc."

I'd really prefer to get started this way, rather than chosing a random
library, learning to use it, and then seeing if can find a bug somewhere
where I could use my new knowledge.

So that's what I am looking for on the human side of things. On the
technical side, I am reasonably confortable in C, C++ and java, but I do
not particularly feel like writing in java. It seems there is not much
java in gnomeland anyway, so that's probably not an issue. An
opportunity to learn C# or ruby would be nice too, but I guess I'd
better stick with the languages I know, at least at first.

Which part of the gnome world would I like to work on? well, hum,
everything. from gimp to beagle, from metacity to gaim, from eog to
gnome-vfs to evolution, I care for pretty much everything in the gnome
world. But since everything is probably a bit too much, I think i'll
settle for anything instead :)

On a side note, I can speak french (as I am French), and Japanese to
some degree, so If that's you're favorite language, it's fine with me.

So, is there anyone wanting an apprentice? I'll promise I'll be nice.
I'll even make you some coffee. Of course, I'll have to drink it myself,
since evolution does not support attaching cups of coffee to emails, but
I'll send you pictures of the cup if you want.

Cheers,

                        Florian Rivoal