How to run a successful Open Source project

From ArticleWorld

As a programmer, you may often decide to start an open-source project. This happens for various reasons, especially if you are coding for fun.

Many open source projects fail though, and as much as we programmers hate managers, we sometimes have to, well, manage. Here are a few tips.

• Build a website for your project. It need not be a wonder of web design. Make it functional instead. Make sure it says loud and clear that the project is Open Source.

• Functional does not mean ugly though. Remember, people do not stay on one website for too long. If you do not have anything interesting, they will quickly go past it.

• Set up a version control system. CVS is the most common, but consider SVN for its facilities.

• Do not do everything by yourself. Ask for contributions. Ask for help. If someone reports a bug, ask if they know a fix and, if so, whether they could write the patch themselves or not. Ask for ideas and implication

• Do not communicate privately in your team. Use a mailing list or a public forum, and post IRC logs if they exist. This way, people will easily get involved.

• Be professional in everything you do. Write code as if it you got paid: unpaid code should not mean bad code. Small things, like a good and consistent coding style, good documentation and well-written, spell-checked news mean a lot to people who visit your project's website.