EasyWaysToHelpUbuntu

Revision 8 as of 2005-12-30 03:35:42

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So you want to help Ubuntu but don't have a lot of time, skill or simply don't know how? Let's show you some of the easy things you can do.

These things should take less than 30 minutes and won't require a great deal of technical skill, if at all.

Marketing and Advocacy

  1. Tell somebody else about Ubuntu - Yes it is really that simple. Maybe order a few cd's through [https://shipit.ubuntu.com/ Ship It] and give them one. See ["DIYMarketing"] for some more resources

  2. Try and buy a computer with Ubuntu preinstalled - if you let the local retailers know there is a market for Ubuntu, they might start to offer it

Testing

  1. Test your digital camera, scanner, printer or other device - Testing hardware is not hard. Simply plug the hardware in and try and make it work. Then tell us about it at HardwareSupport and file bugs in our [http://bugzilla.ubuntu.com/ Bugzilla] for those that don't work.

  2. Try out a live cd - Take a live cd around to a friends house and try it out on their machine. Tell us about what doesn't work by filing bugs in our [http://bugzilla.ubuntu.com/ Bugzilla]

Artwork

  1. Create a little bit of art - the ArtTeam has compiled a great list at ArtworkTodoList.

Wiki

  1. Adopt a wiki page - find a topic you know a lot about and make a good wiki page on it

  2. Spell check a few pages - find a random page and spell check it

  3. Editing - Many of the best pages in the wiki are nearly indecipherable. This makes sense; the people who write them know a lot about Linux, maybe not so much about sentence structure. Put that inner Grammar Nazi to work! Split that into paragraphs! Don't end that sentence in a preposition! A wiki, unlike the forums that we all know and love, is not an interactive medium; it won't talk back to you if you don't understand it. Which is why ease of reading is so important.

Forums

  1. Help a user - Go over to the Ubuntu [http://www.ubuntuforums.org/ Forums] and look for questions from other users that you feel qualified to answer. Be sure to read the forum rules and recommendations for posting.