How to help out at the Oxford Hackspace

We have an issue tracker which lists the jobs that need doing at the hackspace. This page will show you how you can find a task if you'd like to volunteer and how to update the issue as you progress and complete the task.

Finding a task

All the past and present tasks are listed on the issue tracker page. By default the page will show you only open tasks. These are ones which no-one has yet committed to perform. The tasks have a number of labels that help describe them:

• Help wanted: Tasks with this label may already have one or more volunteers working on them, but are still looking to increase the team size.
• On site: These tasks require you to be at the hackspace to perform them, for example taking an inventory of equipment in the electronics room.
• Remote: These tasks can be performed elsewhere, for example researching whether a tool will meet our needs.
• Recurring: These tasks are expected to be performed regularly on ongoing basis, for example clearing up after social night.
• Deadline: These tasks have a specific deadline, for example setting up some equipment for a hackathon. The deadline will be mentioned in the issue page.
• In Progress: That means that someone is currently working on the task. If the task also has the help wanted label then consider helping them, if not presume they can complete it on their own.

Clicking on a task's title within the issue list will take you to the tasks page. Here you will find a description of the task and any messages people have left on the issue. The description should provide you with enough detail to perform the task. In particular it will provide instructions needed to complete the tasks and give any deadline there may be. If the description is not clear then comment on the issue asking the original poster for clarification. If you are interested in helping with the task at a later time post a comment saying when you'll be able to perform it.

Performing a task

If you decide to perform a task please update the issue page to reflect that. Comment on the issue saying you're working on it, and assign the issue to yourself in the box on the right.

When you start working on the task apply the in progress label. To apply the label click on the cog icon next to the list of labels on the upper right (I'll add an image soon), and select the in progress label to add. If the task is a prolonged one consider commenting with updates as you make progress.

Once you have completed the task leave a comment closing the issue. Your comment should explain what you did to complete the task. Post the comment using the close issue button, rather than the normal comment button. This will let people know the task is complete and will remove it from the default view of the issue tracker page.