Not every open source project with an idea and a dream makes it to the big time. For every Azureus or FileZilla, there are dozens of applications like Karra and Mind Crackers that few people use and fewer have heard of. But even projects like these that languish in obscurity can turn into success stories in the hands of the right developer – maybe you!
Did you know that SourceForge.net lets developers take over abandoned projects? The process for doing so (documented here) requires that you fill out a support ticket naming the project you want to take over. If the former developer agrees, or fails to respond within 90 days, the project becomes yours.
Another way you can advance an open source project (as all the projects on SourceForge.net are) is to use the code (subject to its license) and create your own project around it – a process called forking.
Take for instance My Handy Restaurant. It’s designed to help waiters take, edit, and print orders on handheld devices, and let restaurant managers print bills and invoices. It went through several releases between 2003 and 2005, reaching beta status, then stalled. I recently tried to get in touch with the project’s developer, but failed to get a response.
Meanwhile, other developers forked My Handy Restaurant to create Smart Restaurant. Of course there’s no guarantee that a new version of an abandoned project will succeed in the hands of a new development team. Smart Restaurant remains in alpha status, having made just one release earlier this year.
If a project is still under development, the best way to tackle the code is to join the project. Most project leaders welcome contributors who can code, test, document, design, package, or publicize. The bigger the team, the more strengths you can bring to bear on the software. Someday, you may wind up receiving the biggest accolades of all: thank-yous from large numbers of happy users (and maybe a SourceForge.net Community Choice Award to boot).