Be Brave

Don't assume everything has already been discussed a million times and you're the only one who doesn't know and so you shouldn't bother anyone and should just figure it out on your own. That thinking is your enemy. Don't do that or you will get nowhere ... very slowly. So slowly that now you feel you really can't ask about it because surely everyone assumes you know it or have done it by now. That thinking is a terrible trap. Ask questions. Post your thoughts.

Don't worry about asking "stupid" questions on the list – even simple questions have great value. They often lead to surprisingly good discussions. They also have a profound impact on the people around you, the ones you don't see.

There are always a handful of people silently reading the list and wishing they could participate, but are less brave. Whenever someone like you finally does show up and asks basic questions and shows it's ok, we usually get another 1 or 2 new faces who suddenly find the courage to speak up.

Maybe it's like Karaoke; if the people singing sound like you when you sing, there are better odds you might get up and sign too. Seeing people like yourself do the things you want to do is inspiring.

Start Small

You may suddenly get a creative surge and see many many things that could be done. One thing you learn about open source is that you never know when life is going to intervene and you have to stop. So it's always really good to get a little tiny thing working, checked in, and just grow it iteratively as time permits. It is a practice that is key for people of any skill level. And it goes wonderfully with Open Source as it adds plenty of space for new ideas. Stone soup starts with the stone, not the soup!

So no matter how big the idea or task, ask yourself "do I really need all of this to get started?". Start with the tiniest possible version. And then cut it down again

Code is easier to grow than change. And with today's refactoring tools even change is pretty easy. What's hard is taking a big piece of code and jamming it into another big piece of code. Don't work too long in isolation.

Start small, get it checked in (or patch submitted) and work iteratively.