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07_Hackfest_guide.md

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Hackfests

##What are they? Hackfests are a chance to get hands on with SilverStripe open source code. It is also a good space to meet other SilverStripe developers, share knowledge and get help for your SilverStripe open source projects.

For a good idea about 'hackathon' type events in general checkout out the useful Hackathon Guide by Joshua Tauberer

Before the hackfest

  • When you list your hackfest on meetup.com make sure to let people know that it is a hackfest rather than a speaker based meetup.

  • Set the number of RSVPs to suit the venue you are using (we find hackfests are often smaller that the speaker based meetups).

  • Let attendees know to bring their laptops (desktops are ok too if you have the room for them to setup).

  • Hackfests are usually run on weekends and it is a good idea to start them around 10am and finish up around 5pm.

Venue

Venues for hackfests are often in public "hacker" spaces or sponsored by local development companies (if a company is sponsoring a meetup it is ok to add them as meetup sponsors on Meetup.com).

To run a hackfest you'll need to secure a venue with:

  • Space, desks, chairs
  • Wifi (preferably a guest wifi access point, please consider any security impacts if you are using a sponsors space and wifi).
  • Power (it is a good idea to bring some extension gables and power boards).

Building access

Something to consider if the building is usually locked on a weekend, create a sign that can be taped to the public (and likely locked) entrance to the venue. Add the mobile number for the person who is managing letting people in for the event so they can text to get access.

On the day

General

  • Make a sign with a contact mobile number to put on the entrance if the doors are locked over the weekend.
  • Set up the desk space with power boards.
  • Attendees will likely arrive throughout the day so make sure to keep an eye on your mobile if you are running the hackfest.
  • If you have refreshments provided set these out somewhere accessible.
  • Make sure and welcome your hacker guests.
  • If you have any new comers to SilverStripe spend some time helping them get a local development environment and a fresh out of the box copy of SilverStripe running (bonus points if you can do this via composer).

What to work on

  • A good idea to to start a project board using post-it notes and markers. Find out what each person is working on, make a card for it and add to your project board. This is a good way to help others find out what is being worked on and how they might be able to help.

  • If you are working on any SilverStripe core contributions read our contributors guide and coding conventions. Then install SilverStripe from version control on github.com . Fork the framework and cms modules to your own github account.

Read over the introduction to contributing with git. If you’re working on anything CMS related, please read this CMS Architecture Guide first.

IMPORTANT: Don’t work on the master of your fork, create topic branches instead. It’s OK to have multiple branches on your fork, as it makes merging and code review a lot easier for the core committers.