Teaching basic lab skills
for research computing

What can I do during the Bug BBQ?

How to be involved in the Bug BBQ?

A short guide on how to contribute and be involved during The Carpentries Bug BBQ.

Remind me…

When is the Bug BBQ?

It starts on April 12th, 9am Eastern (US) and ends on April 13th, 5pm Pacific (US) (click on the links to see these dates and times for your timezone).

What is the Bug BBQ? Why are we doing one?

You can read more about this in the announcement post.

What is the website with all the info?

https://carpentries.github.io/2018-04-bug-bbq/

I want to contribute to the lessons during the Bug BBQ!

We created a guide that outlines how to contribute to the Bug BBQ. There are many ways to get involved, the issues to address are as varied as the skills they require, and the time it takes to fix them.

As indicated in the guide, we strongly recommend that you leave a comment on the issue you are going to address before starting to work on it. This ensures that no work gets duplicated.

We will use Slack to communicate and coordinate. Feel free to ask questions in the #general channel or in the channel associated with the lesson you are working on. The Bug BBQ website lists all the Slack channels for the lessons involved in the Bug BBQ.

I’m a maintainer, what do I need to know before the Bug BBQ?

We suggest you coordinate with your co-maintainers to decide who will be online when. If at least one member of your lesson can check-in every few hours to review pull requests, provide feedback on the issues that are being opened, and monitor the Slack channels that would be great. If you can spread the load of this work among the maintainers that makes it easier. We prepared a spreadsheet for you to complete so that you can indicate your availability. This spreadsheet has tabs for Geospatial and Social Sciences (which are preparing for their first publication) and another tab for the other lessons that are part of the event.

We also suggest that you prepare your repository for the Bug BBQ. Close stale issues and pull requests, assign at least one of each “type” and “status” GitHub label to the relevant issues, open issues for things you know need to be addressed. Don’t forget to add the “good first issue” and “help wanted” labels to the relevant issues to make it easier for new contributors to identify things they can work on relatively easily.

Don’t hesitate to contact François or Erin, or leave a message on Slack if you have any questions. If there is anything we can do to make it easier for you to participate in the Bug BBQ, let us know.

I’m a maintainer, what do I need to do during the Bug BBQ?

During the Bug BBQ, as a Maintainer, you will provide feedback on the issues and pull requests that will come to your repository. You will assign GitHub labels to the issues that are being opened and update them as needed. You will answer questions contributors may have about the lesson.

This is a big job! Please coordinate with your co-Maintainers to decide who will do what, and don’t hesitate to contact us if we can help provide support for your team.

I’m a maintainer, and I want my lesson to be involved in the Bug BBQ. Is it too late?

No! Let François know and we’ll add your lesson to the Bug BBQ website.

I want to organize a local event, what do I need to do?

Local events are a great way to build and strengthen Carpentries communities. It is also a great opportunity to teach (and learn) how to use Git and GitHub for collaborative lesson development. You need a room with power outlets and an internet connection and a few hours of availability (BBQ optional).

If you want to organize a local event, fill out a GitHub issue.


The Carpentries lessons belong to the community. A Bug BBQ is an opportunity to work collectively on the lessons to make them better. We look forward to seeing all of your contributions!