Ultimate guide for new Monero contributors

Motivation

Monero is nothing without its contributors.

Everyone can contribute something of value to the Monero ecosystem, but very few actually take the next step after hodling.

There are several factors behind this phenomena, usually a mix between:

• a belief that only coders/devs can contribute
• a belief that you need to ask for permission before doing anything
• the fact that lots of people are perfectionists
• a lack of guidance due to excess noise; where to start?

This guide aims to inspire new contributors to get started. It is essentially a list of potential ways one can contribute.

Assumptions

• you have/are able to acquire some basic skills (using a wallet, communicate with others, research stuff, Markdown, Git, HTML)
• Monero is important to you (=> time/patience/perseverance)

My list

WiP: I will update the list whenever I think of something else to add.

• ¹ help me improve this guide/list
• ² join the Localization Workgroup and help translate the Getmonero.org website (Requires: basic Monero, Markdown, HTML, languages)
• ³ create Monero-related art/graphics and inspire the community (Requires: basic Monero, graphic design skills)
• ⁴ write or update a Monero User Guide (Requires: basic Monero, Git, Markdown)
• ⁵ make a Moneropedia entry (Requires: basic Monero, Git, Markdown)
• ⁶ add a question to the FAQ (Requires: basic Monero, Git, HTML)
• ⁷ add a publication to the Library (Requires: basic Monero, Git, HTML, Markdown)
• ⁸ write a Blog post (Requires: basic Monero, Git, Markdown)
• ⁹ run a Monero open remote node (Requires: basic Monero, sysadmin, Linux, a VPS)
• ¹⁰ mine Monero using P2Pool to increase the robustness of the network (Requires: basic Monero, networking)
• ¹¹ suggest or work on a Monero bounty (Requires: basic Monero, any other skills)
• ¹² work on a Haveno bounty (Requires: basic Monero, other skills)
• ¹³ run a local Haveno test network (Requires: basic Monero, Linux, Git)
• ¹⁴ help fund a CCS proposal or make a donation to the General Fund (Requires: basic Monero, $XMR)
• ¹⁵ ask or answer a question on the Monero Stack Exchange (Requires: basic Monero)
• ¹⁶ support Monero through a sponsorship program (Requires: equipment, infrastructure, $XMR)
• ¹⁷ review/translate and transcribe Monero Outreach resources (Requires: basic Monero, Git, languages)
• ¹⁸ volunteer your talent and join Monero Research Lab (Requires: basic Monero, cryptography, statistics, economics, game theory)
• ¹⁹ get involved with the Monero Policy Working Group (Requires: basic Monero, legal, financial services)
• ²⁰ attend Monero workgroup meetings, ask questions and help others (Requires: basic Monero)
• ²¹ help add more features to Monerujo by donating XMR (Requires: basic Monero, $XMR)
• ²² buy/sell something or offer services for XMR (Requires: basic Monero, $XMR, goods/services)
• ²³ help new users by asking and answering questions in MAAM and Skepticism Sunday Reddit threads (Requires: basic Monero)
• ²⁴ become a Market Maker by running an Automated Swap Provider (Requires: basic Monero, Linux, networking, DNS, a VPS, some $XMR)
• ²⁵ create an advertisement to buy/sell XMR on Localmonero (Requires: basic Monero, $XMR)
• ²⁶ accept Monero on your website for goods, services or tips (Requires: basic Monero)
• ²⁷ submit a CCS proposal to work on Monero (Requires: basic Monero, other skills)
• ²⁸ create educational videos/guides/news for Monero in any language (Requires: basic Monero, languages, other skills)
• ²⁹ maintain a Monero file server and accept XMR for digital downloads (Requires: basic Monero, Linux, other skills)
• ³⁰ use guerrilla marketing to become a Monero Ambassador, Advocate or Activist (Requires: basic Monero, other skills)
• ³¹ post a Community Message on Monero Observer (Requires: basic Monero, good/services/other skills)
• ³² suggest an edit or propose a new entry for MO Resources section (Requires: basic Monero)
• ³³ post the results of your deterministic build process and submit a PR with the hashes (Requires: basic Monero, Linux, Git)
• ³⁴ suggest Monero-related research papers to Moneroresearch.info (Requires: basic Monero, other skills)
• ³⁵ self-host a Monero block explorer (Requires: basic Monero, sysadmin, Linux, a VPS)
• ³⁶ test ETH-XMR atomic swaps locally and on stagenet (Requires: basic Monero, Linux, other skills)

Update: add dead link notice²⁹ (credit to anon for the ping).