Open Source Community Participation

There are many ways for you to engage in the 4S open source community and contribute to the improvement of 4S software and documentation. If you have not yet decided whether you want to engage in the 4S community or not, try reading about what 4S is and why you should participate.

The following list suggests different ways you could contribute. Since “baking a cake” is not yet on the list, it is definitely still incomplete, which means that it is likely that you may come up with some innovative way to contribute which is not yet on this list. Don't let that stop your contribution!

1. Download and use the 4S software
   You can download one of our “sandbox” virtual machines to get started, fetch ready-built software from our artifact repository, or dive directly into the source code.
2. Ask questions, help others by answering their questions – or participate in general discussions
   Our on-line forum is open for postings 24/7.
3. Engage in the planning of the future directions of 4S
   Whenever we make plans for future directions and roadmaps, we strive to involve all stakeholders. But in order to do so, we need to know you and your interests. Therefore, please contact the 4S coordinator, presenting yourself and your interests. If you have any special needs or would like to push the development in a certain area, please let us know. You may find that your requests have a better probability of getting a high priority, if you also secure the necessary funding for the work 4S should provide.
4. Reporting bugs or feature requests
   If you encounter bugs or have a feature request or other suggestions, our issue tracker is available here. Please read our general 4S guidelines before using it.
5. Providing new software – or fixing bugs in the existing
   Source code contributions can be submitted as pull requests. Please read our general 4S guidelines before submitting. Furthermore, please contact us before you start making contributions, in order to coordinate the work.
6. New projects
   If you have an idea for a new project or something that is related to 4S, please write to the 4S coordinator who will help you, or post in our forum.
7. Spread the word
   The more 4S software is being used around the world the more contributors 4S will get – and the faster we can advance. One way could be using social media:
   • OpenTele group on LinkedIn
8. Financing
   Last, but not least, 4S is an open source organisation with only a minimal operating budget. In order to expand and develop new or improved architectures and interfaces, external funding is needed. And the more help we get with securing the funding, the faster we will be able to act and advance.

• Component Maturity
• Contributing Changes
• Issue Tracking
• Source Code
• Artifacts
• Wiki Contributions
• Work groups
• License and Intellectual Properties
• Quality Management and Medical Devices