Bug Smash is Back — Join In! 🐛
Tags: devbugsmash, opensource, forem, contributorswanted
Published: 2021-08-10 18:04:51

---
title: Bug Smash is Back — Join In! 🐛
published: true
description: Bug Smash aims to surface issues in the Forem codebase that are particularly interesting! If you're looking for some open source issues to tackle, we'd love to have you!
tags: devbugsmash, opensource, forem, contributorswanted
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/2rbw9t2do95ai017bwhg.png
---

> _Author's note: A few folks from our community surfaced valid concerns that Bug Smash might perpetuate the exploitation of early-career developers' time in exchange for inadequate rewards. We hear these concerns and do not want this program to encourage overwork or unhealthy attitudes about newer developers._

> _As such, we wanted to clarify our goal. Bug Smash is a way for us to surface issues that active contributors might be interested in or newer contributors might enjoy working on. The Forem codebase indeed benefits from our contributors' time but our goal here is not free labor — it is to enjoy collaborating with one another on open source for those interested. It is also to surface issues that might not be easy to find within our product roadmap. As such, we have edited the post to remove language that might lead people to believe we view open source experience, stickers, or badges as payment. Bug Smash is meant to be a supplement to the work our paid maintainers and contributors do. We appreciate our community for pushing us to clarify this!_


### Announcing the Second DEV Community Bug Smash!

You might remember that a few months back, we announced a fun new opportunity to collaborate with other developers, participate in open source, and help maintainers make Forem a better place. 

{% link https://dev.to/devteam/join-us-for-the-first-dev-community-bug-smash-3plm/ %} 

We saw such fantastic response from all participants and merged so many amazing fixes during the first DEV Community Bug Smash that we decided to bring it back for another round! 

#### Here’s everything you need to know about the DEV Community Bug Smash this time around.

_Rules have been updated since the first Bug Smash. Even if you participated last time, please read them!_

### Details

> #### What is Bug Smash? 

The DEV Community Bug Smash invites 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). _We will send a limited-edition sticker pack and profile badge to anyone who smashes a bug, writes a reflection post, and would like them!_

> #### When is Bug Smash?

Bug Smash will be running from August 10th through September 3rd, 2021. 

Please note that anyone actively working on Pull Requests can go over the September 3rd deadline.

> #### Who can participate?

Bug Smash is open to anyone in our community who would like to participate. 

> #### 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/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3A%22bug+smash%22+no%3Aassignee) to see the full list). Any issue not labeled with `bug smash` is not part of the DEV Community Bug Smash. 

> #### Why should I participate? 

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!). The Forem engineering team is excited to feature this list of issues that they feel active contributors and newer developers might enjoy working on. 

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

---

## How to Participate, Step-by-Step

1. Please read our [Contributing to Forem](https://docs.forem.com/contributing/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/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3A%22bug+smash%22+no%3Aassignee), 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!](https://docs.github.com/en/issues/tracking-your-work-with-issues/linking-a-pull-request-to-an-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. 
6. <mark>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!<mark> 
7. Find another post on DEV labeled [devbugsmash](dev.to/t/devbugsmash) and leave a comment or a question! Keep it encouraging, kind, and collaborative.
8. After you’ve completed steps 1-7, we’ll reach out with details on getting your sticker pack if you would like one. We will also send badges at this time.

_Note: We will only be sending one badge and one sticker pack per participant. **We determine who to send stickers to based on reflection posts shared on DEV** and the validity of their smashed bugs._

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.


<mark>**For the list of Bug Smash-eligible issues, click [here](https://github.com/forem/forem/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3A%22bug+smash%22+no%3Aassignee).**<mark>


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We hope you enjoy round two of the DEV Community Bug Smash! Remember, the goals here are to have fun and collaborate with your peers while getting involved in the Forem repository if you've been wanting to do so. Please keep basic [open source contribution etiquette](​​https://dev.to/azure/contributing-to-open-source-projects-contributors-etiquette-1bdm) in mind and abide by our [Code of Conduct](https://dev.to/code-of-conduct). 

From all of us at [Team Forem](https://dev.to/about), thank you for your community spirit and interest in working on our code. 💖