As a baby coder I am blessed to have such an amazing mentor. A big part of what he has taught me is through how he gives back to the community.
One of the most powerful lessons he has taught me along the way is when you see a bug on a website, trouble shoot it and let them know. Don't just email them that the website is broken. You have some knowledge, use it to at least go through the steps to recreate the problem, take screen shots and send a real report. Inspect the code and give specific keys to where the problem is happening on the UX side.
I recently came across a bug in one of my favorite local vendor websites and was able to come to two simple possible roots to the problem. I've found that the exchange is always received favorably and with appreciation. In this case there wasn't much to tell or test but typically I advise to go as deep as you can.
When my mentor has shared bugs with me he inspects the code, digs into what divs and classes are affected and in some cases can actually find the real solution to the problem if there is a link to the website's github. He writes up a clear and helpful report without sounding condescending. Remember that in reality the person getting this email first is most likely not a developer so be kind and thoughtful in your explanation so they can figure out who to send it on to if it is not them.
In the end there is no big write up here about how to do this or when, but I think as developers we now have the knowledge to be able to use those powers for good. So go out into that big wide web and start helping some folks!
One of the most powerful lessons he has taught me along the way is when you see a bug on a website, trouble shoot it and let them know. Don't just email them that the website is broken. You have some knowledge, use it to at least go through the steps to recreate the problem, take screen shots and send a real report. Inspect the code and give specific keys to where the problem is happening on the UX side.
I recently came across a bug in one of my favorite local vendor websites and was able to come to two simple possible roots to the problem. I've found that the exchange is always received favorably and with appreciation. In this case there wasn't much to tell or test but typically I advise to go as deep as you can.
When my mentor has shared bugs with me he inspects the code, digs into what divs and classes are affected and in some cases can actually find the real solution to the problem if there is a link to the website's github. He writes up a clear and helpful report without sounding condescending. Remember that in reality the person getting this email first is most likely not a developer so be kind and thoughtful in your explanation so they can figure out who to send it on to if it is not them.
In the end there is no big write up here about how to do this or when, but I think as developers we now have the knowledge to be able to use those powers for good. So go out into that big wide web and start helping some folks!
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