This page explains to members of the CypriotTeam how to contribute to the various Ubuntu sections of development. Contributing to an operating system of such freedom allows the contributors to enjoy their contribution in forthcoming releases, as well as giving the pleasure to others who use the same operating system to enjoy their contribution.

Source: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=896777

Intrepid Ibex (8.10) will be the ninth release of everyone's favorite Free operating system, Ubuntu. With the Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04 already out the door, now is a good time to recap what we can do to help make Intrepid a quality release.

First Things First

• Get a Launchpad account if you don't already have one. You'll need it to report and track bugs, do translations in Rosetta, register blueprints, track support requests, and share the karma. The newly updated Launchpad can be an excellent central hub for almost all your contributions to Ubuntu and beyond. Register here.

• Familiarize yourself with how Ubuntu development works, at least roughly. This will help you contribute more efficiently, and prevent many uncalled for misunderstandings. An excellent place to start is the Ubuntu Development page in the wiki. Even a brief look at the main page will give you a rough idea of how the pieces fit together, and it will help if you go deeper. If the puzzle in your head has missing pieces, don't hesitate to ask questions on how things work. The Ubuntu Open Week is also a good opportunity to dive a bit deeper into Ubuntu.

• Review the Intrepid Release Schedule, to plan ahead when and what you can contribute at this point in the development cycle.

• If you're confused about and/or having too many problems with the development version and don't exactly feel on top of things, don't run it for the time being. The Ubuntu development process is a tough ride, tougher than most distros, due to the cutting edge technology policy and the fixed development duration that's tightly packed with radical changes; if at any point you decide that you can't bear with it, drop it until a more stable phase, a milestone release, or entirely. Intrepid will be a development version until October 2008, and is prone to major breakage at any point. Do not rely on it as your main operating system. If you decide to test it, be aware that you're risking being left without a working operating system, and data loss.

Reporting Bugs

Bug reporting is one of the most accessible, and yet most beneficial ways in which everyone can contribute. It's a good idea to start reporting bugs as early as possible, since towards the later stages, especially past BetaFreeze, focus will most likely shift towards critical bugs only. Whenever you encounter a reproducible malfunction in Intrepid, file a bug report. It's a good idea to start a thread in the development forum before submitting your report, to discuss it with others who may have experienced it, to make sure it's genuine. And it's very important that you do a search for the bug before submitting it; duplicate bugs make life more difficult for everyone. It's practical to keep the URL structure for the source package bug pages (where you can search for bugs in them) in mind:

{{{https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu