Skip to content

Onboarding document

Jump to bottom
Nucleus edited this page Aug 3, 2025 · 1 revision

Welcome to the FOSSWarn- / FOSS Public Alert Server- team. This document is a starting point for everyone who wants to join the community. It contains information for people who want to help with testing software, people who want to help with the translation, or people who want to help with coding. If you have any questions, feel free to write me an e-mail or write me on Matrix.

Communication

We communicate mainly via the FOSSWarn matrix space. There are channels for all the different things we need. Here is a quick overview of the channels:

#Welcome and rules: Here you can find some basic rules of respectful communication. Please read them first.

#FOSS Public Alert Server - Dev: This channel is just for the server's development communication. The main language here is German, but you can also start a discussion in English. Please do not ask general questions here. If you want to help with coding, feel free to join.

#FOSS Public Alert Server - public discussion: This channel is used for general discussion around the server.

#FOSSWarn - testing and discussion: This channel is used to discuss the FOSSwarn app. We will write here if there is a new update that needs to be tested. Here you can also start a general discussion about FOSSWarn. The main language is English.

#FOSSWarn - Dev: This channel is used for developer communication for FOSSWarn. The main language is English.

#FOSSWarn - feedback & events: This channel is used to share feedback about the app. Please do not start a discussion here. We will also write here if there was a talk about FOSSWarn or the FOSS Public Alert Server.

#Offtopic: Used for every discussion that is not related to FOSSWarn or the FOSS Public Alert Server directly.

We also have two Mastodon accounts where we post updates about the project. https://social.tchncs.de/@foss_warn and https://floss.social/deck/@foss_public_alert_server

Translations

FOSSWarn is translated via Weblate. If you want to help with the translation, just create an account and start translating. We always need support here.

FOSSWarn

Built with Flutter & Dart, and we always need support with coding. [tbd]

FOSS Public Alert Server

Built with Django & Python, we also need support here. [tbd]

How can I help?

There are many levels at which you can support this project. If you want to support us in one of the following ways, please get in touch with us:

  • coding flutter & dart: help with the code and implement new features or fix existing bugs
  • Coding Django & Python: same as for the app but with a different language and framework
  • webdesign. We have a domain but not a website. We may need some help creating a nice-looking static webpage. (e.g., with Hugo)
  • translating: If you speak any language, you can support us there. This is really easy to get started with, as there are no responsibilities; just check if there is a language with a missing translation and start helping
  • communication: We are developers and social media and co is not our greatest strength. If you have fun with communication internally within the team or externally, please get in touch with us.
  • research: We are always searching for new CAP alert sources for the FOSS Public Alert server. This requires navigating into the deep internet on non-English webpages to find new data sources.
  • documentation and co. We could need a better Q&A and better documentation for the project to help users find relevant information and to make it easier for other developers to get started.

this document is still WIP. Last update 3.8.25

Clone this wiki locally