Do You Want to Participate?

I began writing Auremo for a few reasons. When I started there was, to my knowledge, no dedicated Windows MPD client and I happened to need one. Being enthusiastic about open source software I had often thought about participating in a project but had not found one to which I could easily contribute. I figured that this, though, would be something I could do without too much difficulty. Maintaining my own project would be a way for me to pay something back for the open source software I've used over the years. Happily, it also helps me in my day job: it gives me a chance to learn new things about tools I have to use anyway and sometimes serves as a catharsis when work is especially frustrating.

There are a few ways you can show appreciation if you want to. If you bothered to read the above paragraph, though, this much should be clear: do not try to send money. I like money as much as anyone, but I already have a perfectly well-paying and mostly comfortable day job. Also, multiple people have already given me a hand with this project and I would have to figure out how to distribute the money fairly. Moreover, I happen to live in a country where the tax man would take most of what you send. Besides, reporting the extra income is harder than maintaining Auremo, so it wouldn't really be worth it. Finally, to be honest, working pro bono implies I don't have to keep deadlines or work on things I don't like, which suits me just fine.

Having said all this, there are a number of things you can do if you are so inclined. If you aren't, you don't have to.

Send code. If you are a skilled programmer with some spare time and you think you could throw in a few patches, feel free to fork Auremo and see if you can figure it out. This is especially welcome if you are a UX expert (because I am not). It might be a good idea though to ask before starting with any large-scale changes, and don't be offended if I insist on rewriting half of your code before merging it. If I'm considering your code for inclusion, it means I already appreciate it.

Send translations. Actually, don't do this quite yet. But, multi-language support is planned for an upcoming version of Auremo, so if you are a native speaker in a language that should definitely (in your opinion) be added, keep this option in mind. There will be an announcement when it's time to start doing something about this.

Send suggestions. E-mails with suggestions, bug reports and the like are always appreciated. Many people have already sent great ideas that I ended up implementing, but more are definitely welcome. As I'm largely writing Auremo for my own benefit I don't always correctly anticipate what others would like to do with it. But don't be offended if your idea doesn't make it. People want different and often conflicting things.

Send greetings. If you're happy with the way Auremo already is, let me know! I've received plenty of interesting e-mail from all over the world and am always happy to get more. It seems to me that many MPD and Auremo users are hi-fi enthusiasts, which is interesting because I'm one too. If you have cool photos of your listening room where Auremo gets to sit with you, please share!

Use Auremo. If you're too shy to send e-mail, that's OK too. I hope it's clear that I'm not doing this to get something from you. I'm perfectly happy knowing that I wrote something that's useful to someone else.

Participate in another open source project. I've used plenty of open source software over the years and adding Auremo to the common pool is my way of saying thanks to all the authors whose work I've benefited from. If you are a creative person who could also create something new to benefit everyone, you should definitely give it a try.