Contributing
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Benefits of Contributing
The most common reasons for contribution is to gain the very much coveted shell accounts from SHellium. The shell accounts are given freely but usually at the cost of a small donation or contributions to the community at large. These contributions help to lower the vouching requirements from 4 to either 3 or 2 (depending on how much you have contributed) within the IRC shell activation community. Further explanations on the vouching system can be found in the HOWTO Index. Contributions also help you gain recognition and acceptance to the management members of SHellium and the various members of the community. Integration into the community is essential to being accepted into the community quickly.
Donating
Click on donate to take you to the donate page Donate
Click on the Golden Donate button which will take you to the PayPal link Conveniently, the current layout (as of 9:40 11 Aug 08 +8GMT) of the site, puts a golden donate button on almost every page while on the SHellium webpage. This has the same effect.
After that, just fill up with the appropriate information and submit.
Donating Methods
Currently, the only mode known is by PayPal. PayPal accepts a series of credit cards ranging from namely, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and Amex. PayPal also support direct bank transfers.
Effects of Donating
Donations allow you to get a shell account instantly with the SHellium site. There is no specific amount to donate. However, a small sum is expected.
Donations help in cutting back server costs and keep the service free.
Other Ways to Contribute
There are generally several popular ways listed below that will help you in contributing to SHellium. These are general guidelines and are not limited or restricted in anyway.
IRC community help
IRC community helpers are people who volunteer themselves on the irc servers on SHellium (/server -m irc.freenode.com -j #SHellium) to help new members create accounts and other varied questions. There is currently a healthy population of helpers from both the SHellium administration and volunteer members. There are usually people on at any point in time (statistics are available). Questions such as for scripting, creation, and usage of shell-related programs are to be expected as well. If any, there is also random chatting like normal internet-relay chats beyond helping. Regular activity can help you understand and know the members better. However, this method is relatively slow and usually takes a while depending on your activity level.
Creation of Programs and Scripts
The creation of programs and scripts for SHellium is also another form of contribution. This is by far the most difficult task as it requires some level of programming language and learned skills to create anything useful to the community. This can be things such as install scripts or any other useful tools that SHellium would need. There is also some scarcity in the requirements for scripts as most are already in existence and available. Contributors within this section should therefore indicate their skill-sets to the relevant authorities or voice out their skill-sets onto the SHellium IRC channel.
Creation, Editorial and Translation of Wiki Articles
Arguably the most common and effective means of contribution is through creation and editing of wiki articles. This can range from operations and usage of the SHellium website to the usage of SHellium shell accounts. They can be tutorials or HOWTOS on creation and usage of psyBNC for example, to tutorials on using perl and usage of compilers within the shell accounts. Due to the fact that SHellium is still a growing community, there are plenty of opportunities using this method of contribution. Contributors can also revise certain Wiki articles such as editing of spelling and grammar components of the Wiki and various improvements. Currently there is a demand for translation into other languages such as Russian and Latin. Therefore, people from varied backgrounds can apply their unique skills as well. For further details about and how-to translate, read the guide: How to translate.
Remember that earning vouches from wiki articles is not an automated system, since an admin review is needed. Also, the number of vouches earned from wiki editing is highly related with the quality of the editions.
See also: How to write guides for SHellium wiki
Tip: if you don't know what to do, check the TODO list. If it's empty, ask around in #SHellium as it is more than likely we can suggest something for you to do.
Dancing
You can dance on video, with the SHellium banner and upload it to Youtube. People will watch it on Youtube and think "Oh, a free shell! I need to try it.". Examples are on SHellium's Youtube channel.
