# Getting Started Guide

## 4 Easy Steps

After the contest starts, you can participate by following these 4 easy steps:

1. Sign up at [g.co/gci](http://g.co/gci). Be sure to read the [Contest Rules](https://developers.google.com/open-source/gci/resources/contest-rules).
2. Have your parent or legal guardian sign the Parental Consent form.
3. Find a task that interests you.
4. Claim the task and start working on it!

## Basics

At its core, [open source](https://opensource.org/faq#osd) is about making the
source code for a program available for anyone to see, use, or modify. But open
source is about more than just code -- it's about a global community coming
together through collaboration to write software.

Over twenty-five open source organizations participate in Google Code-in. Each one
is different. If you're attempting to be a Finalist or Grand Prize winner, you
might want to focus on tasks from only one or two organizations. It's important
to pick an organization that interests you. You can find more information about
each organization on the Google Code-in contest site.

## Communication and Getting Help

- Don't wait until you are frustrated or the last minute before asking for help.

- GCI is a global contest. Your mentors are volunteers with other commitments.
  They are unlikely to be in your time zone. This means that it can take over a
  day before you hear back from them.

- Your mentors are automatically notified when you post a comment on a task or
  submit it for review. They will respond.

- Each organization will have a preferred/best communication method. Some might
  prefer [IRC](https://developers.google.com/open-source/gci/resources/irc), while others prefer mailing lists or Slack. Check the
  organization's page on the contest site for what to use. These methods are
  sometimes better than leaving comments on the contest site because there may
  be other people who can help you sooner.

- Be polite and considerate. Read the [etiquette guide](https://developers.google.com/open-source/gci/resources/etiquette).

## Helpful Tips

### You can contribute without being a coder!

There are many different skill sets needed to help an open source community
thrive:

- *Documentation:* Documentation is a huge part of a successful open source
  project. Organizations need documentation to help attract users and new
  contributors.

- *Research:* An organization may need help crunching numbers or analyzing
  feedback to better understand what the users want or need.

- *Outreach:* Outreach is how open source projects attract new users and
  developers. This includes making videos, organizing meetups, or helping
  others learn about the project.

- *Training:* Teach others how to use the project. This is a specialized form
  of outreach or documentation.

- *Design:* Design can include many types of tasks including
  designing new visual aspects of a webpage or creating a new logo for the
  project. It may also include various accessibility opportunities to help make
  the project easier for people who are visually impaired.

- *Quality Assurance:* Finding and verifying bugs is an important part of
  software development.

- *Other:* If you have an idea that may help an organization, reach out to them
  and let them know! Sometimes the best task is one that the organization hasn't
  even considered yet.

### Collaboration

Open source is not just programming. It is about working with other people to
find the best solution. Being a part of the community is an essential part of
success in Google Code-in. Mentors tell us every year that their best students
were the ones who worked hard on their projects but also participated on IRC and
helped answer questions other students had.

Mentors and Students each
have
[roles and responsibilities](https://developers.google.com/open-source/gci/help/responsibilities).

### Quality over Quantity

It's not about being the student who completes the most tasks, that only gets
you to the top 20 -- it doesn't mean you will be a grand prize winner or even a
finalist. Many students who completed the most tasks for their organization were
not named as Grand Prize Winners because they did everything solo and didn't get
involved in the community.

### Programming Skills

If you work on coding tasks, you should be comfortable in the programming
language required for that task. If you aren't confident in your skills, you
might want to start with a non-coding task. If you are more comfortable with
HTML or CSS, consider taking on a task related to a project's website content.
Do not expect mentors to teach you how to program.