Join Us For the First DEV Community Bug Smash!
Tags: devbugsmash, opensource, forem, contributorswanted
Published: 2021-05-04 16:38:56

### Team Forem is excited to share the news of our first community Bug Smash! 

Join us for this DEV-wide collaboration that’s all about improving the Forem repository, encouraging more contributions from the community, and having fun in the process. 🐛 

### Details

> #### What is it? 
The DEV Community Bug Smash challenges members of our community to resolve one (or several!) of our predetermined bugs in the Forem codebase [here](https://github.com/forem/forem/labels/Bug%20Smash) in exchange for open source community involvement, a limited-edition profile badge for eligible contributions, and a sticker pack!

> #### When is Bug Smash?
Our first Bug Smash will be running today, May 4 through May 28, 2021. We plan to assess the overall experience at the end of the month with the intention of doing this again in the future or possibly extending the event immediately.

> #### Who can participate?
Bug Smash is open to anyone in our community who would like to participate. We added the general `bug smash` label to all eligible issues, however, **we’ve broken a handful of them into two different categories below to help you select the bug that makes the most sense for your experience level.**

> #### Where will I be smashing bugs? 
**In the Forem repository!** 
For Bug Smash, you’ll be tackling issues labeled with (you guessed it,) `bug smash` in our repo (click [here](https://github.com/forem/forem/labels/Bug%20Smash) to see the full list). We’ve captured a handful of these issues below under “Examples of Eligible Bugs”. Any issue not labeled with `bug smash` is **not** part of the DEV Community Bug Smash. 

> #### Why should I participate? 

> So many reasons! The DEV Community Bug Smash is a great way for you to get more practice with tackling issues in GitHub if you’re a newer developer. If you have more experience, this initiative is a fantastic opportunity to help a community you know and love (DEV!) while lending a hand to the Forem engineering team on issues that they might not have the capacity to work on at the moment. 

> The best part? We’ll be awarding limited-edition DEV profile badges and a sticker pack to anyone who submits a `bug smash` PR that gets approved. 

> **TL;DR: Greener GitHub contribution history, community camaraderie, and cool rewards** 😎

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## How to Participate, Step-by-Step

1. Please read our [Contributing to Forem](https://developers.forem.com/contributing-guide/forem) guide for contribution guidelines, rules, and etiquette related to working in our codebase. Also, please revisit our [code of conduct](https://dev.to/code-of-conduct) for overall expectations on how to treat one another.
2. **Claim an [issue labeled `bug smash`](https://github.com/forem/forem/labels/Bug%20Smash), based on your experience level by commenting on it.** 
3. You will be notified by our team with a confirmation if you’ve been assigned to that issue. If the issue is already taken, we reply with a suggestion of a different one for you to tackle
4. Once you are assigned a bug, create a pull request (PR) (don’t forget to link to the original issue!)
5. After you’ve submitted a pull request (PR) for your assigned bug, you’ll be notified by our team if it was approved. Once it’s approved (🎉) please use [this template](dev.to/new/devbugsmash) to write a reflection post about the bug you smashed, right here on DEV! 
6. Find another post on DEV labeled [devbugsmash](dev.to/t/devbugsmash) and leave a comment or a question! Keep it encouraging, kind, and collaborative.
7. After you’ve completed steps 1-6, we’ll reach out with details on getting your sticker pack. We will also award badges at this time.

_Note: We will only be awarding one badge and one sticker pack per participant, regardless of how many bugs you smash._

Thanks in advance for your patience following the publication of your Bug Smash post on DEV. The Forem engineering team is small but mighty and it will take focused time on their behalf to review Bug Smash PRs.


## **_Examples of Eligible Bugs_**

Here is an incomplete preview of the bugs you can smash! 

### **Good first issue bugs**

_Here are a few issues that are perfect for early-career developers and people learning to code._ 

{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/1228 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/1446 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/13195 %}

### **General bugs**

_If you have more experience with software development and working in GitHub, here are a few issues you might want to take a look at_

{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/6586 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/7561 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/6377 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/6417 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/6610 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/4948 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/4955 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/4969 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/11494 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/12455 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/12545 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/13298 %}
{% github https://github.com/forem/forem/issues/13277 %}

**For the full list, click [here](https://github.com/forem/forem/labels/Bug%20Smash).**


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We are so excited to see your contributions! Our team thanks you for your collaboration and commitment to improving our repository 💖

If you’re new to making pull requests, here are a few resources we recommend you check out: 
- [Git Cheat Sheet](https://dev.to/chrissiemhrk/git-cheat-sheet-26ak) by @chrissiemhrk
- [Git and GitHub for Beginners](https://dev.to/tracycss/git-and-github-for-beginners-po3) by @tracycss
- [Your First Open-Source Pull Request: a Walkthrough](https://dev.to/healeycodes/your-first-open-source-pull-request-a-walkthrough-1omf) by @healeycodes



_P.S. With only a few exceptions, the Forem team is pro real-world, physical bugs and we don’t condone smashing them! #TakeSpidersOutside_