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Preptember

Preptember is the month open source maintainers and contributors prepare themselves for Hacktoberfest.

For this challenge, we have two tracks. Maintainers will review their open-source repos with our repository checklist to ensure their projects are ready for Hacktoberfest contributions. Contributors will look at their favorite repos, evaluate them based on the guide, and write good issues to fulfill the criteria.

Since September 2023, we have provided a VC Preptember repository for our members to practice open source and to list repositories that we can verify for Hacktoberfest based on our Repository Checklist.

tip

Read our Monthly Challenge Facilitators Handbook to learn how to handle tasks before and after challenges, as well as the technical guidelines.

Special Tasks​

The special task for this challenge is to prepare the vc-preptember repository for contribution.

Todo​

Two weeks before the challenge:

  • Create new markdown files called preptember-participants-YYYY.md and repositories-list-YYYY.md.

    Change YYYY to the year of the challenge.

  • Archive old files in the past-preptembers folder.

Async Check-Ins Time​

Mondays, 9:00 AM ET

Prompts​

Below are previous prompts for our kick-off announcements and async check-ins.

Kick-Off Announcement 2024​

It’s now September and that means it is time for the Preptember Challenge!

We have two main strands planned for this month's challenge.

  - The [repository](https://github.com/Virtual-Coffee/vc-preptember) where contributors and aspiring contributors can practice a real contribution flow on GitHub, and maintainers or seasoned contributors can add repositories to the list to recommend for Hacktoberfest month.
  - The OpenSauced maintainers and contributors courses. Stay tuned for specifics of our program around these courses.

Let's get into the spirit of the fall and use this Challenge to get prepared for next month's Hacktoberfest 🎃

Kick-Off Announcement 2023​

📢 Hi friends,

For this year's Preptember, we're excited to share that we have something new as an addition to the challenge: The VC Preptember repository!

  - If you're new to open source, you can practice open source by adding yourself to the Preptember participants list.
  - For contributors and maintainers, you can list the repositories that pass our repository checklist to be recommended for Hacktoberfest — and you can always add yourself to the Preptember participants list!

Read our challenge page for the details, and watch this walkthrough video to give you some insight into what it's all about! 🙌

Async Check-Ins 2024​

  • Week 1

    Hi friends!

    How's everyone getting on with Preptember challenge?

    Don't forget to participate in our [Preptember repository](https://github.com/Virtual-Coffee/vc-preptember).

    For contributors, you can practice making a contribution by adding your name and favorite cake or snack.

    For maintainers, if you have repositories that meet our [Repository Checklist](https://virtualcoffee.io/resources/developer-resources/open-source/maintainer-guide#repository-checklist), you can add them so our contributors can find them for Hacktoberfest.

    Also, a couple of heads up:

      - We have two events coming up this month for the challenge (see post in #announcements)
      - The official 2024 [Hacktoberfest site](https://hacktoberfest.com/) is now live (but not yet open for registration)!

  • Week 2

    Hi friends!

    How are y'all getting on with the Preptember challenge?

    If you haven't yet contributed, you can find our Preptember repository [here](https://github.com/Virtual-Coffee/vc-preptember).

    Today, at 10:30 AM ET, we have the first live event for the challenge. See this post for more info!

  • Week 3

    Hi friends! The Preptember challenge is still ongoing! There isn't much activity in this channel this month but feel free to let us know how you're getting on or ask for help if you need it 😊

    If you haven't yet participated in the Preptember repository, check it out: https://github.com/Virtual-Coffee/vc-preptember

  • Week 4

    Hi friends! How is everyone getting on with Preptember?

    As we gear up for Hacktoberfest, if you are a maintainer participating in this year's event and your repo(s) meet our [Repository Checklist](https://virtualcoffee.io/resources/developer-resources/open-source/maintainer-guide#repository-checklist), don't forget to add them to the list in [our repo](https://github.com/Virtual-Coffee/vc-preptember)!

Async Check-Ins 2023​

Hi friends!

How's everyone getting on with Preptember challenge?
Don't forget to participate in our [Preptember repository](https://github.com/Virtual-Coffee/vc-preptember).

For contributors, you can practice making a contribution by adding your name and favorite coffee or other drink.

For maintainers, if you have repositories that meet our [Repository Checklist](https://virtualcoffee.io/resources/developer-resources/open-source/maintainer-guide#repository-checklist), you can add them so contributors can find them for Hacktoberfest.

Event Announcements 2024​

  • Intro to Maintainer Workshop

    **WHEN**: Sept 13, 10:30a ET
    **WHAT**: @Ayu and I will be walking you through what it means to be a maintainer, how to set your project up for success, and answering all your questions. Even if you aren't ready to be a maintainer, if you're interested in learning more about open source, this workshop will provide a lot of valuable information.

  • Intro to Contributing to Open Source

    Friday, September 27th 10:30a ET

    In this workshop, Ayu and Bekah will walk you through on making a positive impact in open source as a contributor. They'll share ways to get started, talk about considerations for communications, contributions, and being a good open source citizen. They'll also share how you can get your first Hacktoberfest contribution and answer your questions.

Slack Channels​

Slack channels that we use for the challenge:

  • #announcement
    • Kick-off announcement
  • #monthly-challenge
    • Challenge announcements
    • Monday weekly check-ins
    • Questions and support

Past Challenges​

Past Blog Posts​

Past Events​

Events 2024​

Events 2023​

Events 2022​