How to help - ParabolaWiki

# How to help

Parabola is made by volunteers. These are some ways you can help us to make this project better:

## Server and backup policies

Currently one of our servers is down, so many links in e.g. this wiki page are broken. We need hosting and backup policies that will help avoid having the same issue with the currently working server.

We also need to fix all broken links on working services like this wiki and document where sources are now located.

## Code review

Changes in packages and blacklist are added when a single developer considers them working on their machine. It is not sufficient, especially when upgrades depend on specific hardware, other packages or deciding package's compatibility with our freedom guidelines requires experience with that package.

Find a reasonable way of getting every change reviewed by other developers or users before they are applied. This probably implies not having packages built on developer's computers.

## Delay updates when they need changing our packages

Currently we automatically get new packages from Arch every day. If they depend on newer versions of packages that we modify (like dependency libraries), then updates fail or break users' systems. Make the repo update scripts detect this issue and delay updates from Arch (of affected packages only, or all packages?) when this occurs.

Resources
  dbscripts

## Packaging

We change packages to not recommend nonfree software and add free replacements for nonfree packages.

Resources
  Documentation
  Issue trackers
You will learn
  Arch packaging and using libretools

## Editing wiki articles

Documentation
  Wiki Editing
  Wiki Conversion

## Translating wiki articles

Documentation
  Wiki internationalization

## Reporting bugs

Resources
  Projects

## Finding upstream reports or fixes for bugs

Most package bugs are not specific to Parabola, resulting e.g. from compiler or library upgrades (common for build failures). Some of them are reported or fixed upstream, posting URIs of such reports would make fixing them here much easier. (Reporting new issues is harder due to other changes and lack of debug symbols in our packages.)

Resources
  Projects

## Find and remove nonfree packages

The most common problems are documentation/UI of a program recommending nonfree software or software under nonfree licenses (typically restricting commercial use or modifications). Usually no programming knowledge is needed.

Resources
  Guidelines for Free System Distributions
  Some problems which don't make the package nonfree
  How to Blacklist a package
You will learn
  free software licensing, practical problems of some nonfree restrictions

## Fixing package build problems

Some packages are rarely updated and cannot be compiled now without changes. Fixing them would make porting to other architectures and changing the packages to make them more useful easier.

If a change is not needed to compile the package in Parabola-specific ports and is in package not modified by Parabola, it should be reported directly to Arch.

Resources
  List of problems found when porting to MIPS
  Arch Issue Tracker
You will learn
  Arch packaging and libretools

## Other projects

We have a list of project repositories.

Category:

- Hacking