Contributing

This is open-source software and as such may be contributed to either directly or indirectly. Thank you for contributing. Please use the methods outlined here to contribute in order to make the process as smooth as possible for everyone involved.

Ideas or Information

Perhaps the most common way to contribute is with ideas or information. You might have a suggestion for a new feature or a cleaner interface. You might have spotted a bug in the functionality or an error (even if just a typo) in the documentation. You might know of a related project with which there could be collaboration. These and many more should be raised in the first instance on the CPAN RT.

General comments

Visit [http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=WebService-AbuseIPDB] and have a look through the existing issues (both open and resolved) to make sure that there is not already a ticket dealing with the point you were going to make.

Submit your comment or suggestion with as much specificity and detail as you can and please try to accompany any suggestions with a rationale.

Please make your point in English. Tickets raised in other languages will most likely be subject to automated translation and thus some loss of integrity.

Bugs

Bugs reports should also be submitted via RT as above. A bug report is more likely to receive extensive and timely attention if it includes the following:

• The version(s) of the dist/module exhibiting the problem
• The version(s) of perl being used
• The Operating System name and version being used
• Any pertinent details of the environment
• Full, exact detail of any input
• Full, exact detail of any output
• Full, exact detail of any warnings, errors or diagnostic messages
• In what way the operation deviates from your expectations

If you are a programmer, it would also be very beneficial to have the following:

• A test script demonstrating the bug
• A patch to fix it
• A merge request (see the section on contributing code below)

Submitters of high quality bug reports will be acknowledged in future releases.

Code

If you are reading this section then thank you very much for even considering contributing code to this project. Here are some guidelines to ensure a harmonious community of contributors.

• Please get in touch, ideally via RT as above, to outline what it is that you plan to contribute in advance. This avoid duplication of effort and will help to decide what can and should become part of this dist and what might benefit from being developed separately.
• If it is agreed for you to contribute then the easiest way is to clone the public repository at https://gitlab.com/openstrike/abuseipdb-client and then submit a merge request. Please base your work against the current release branch, not the master.
• If you do not use git or gitlab then you may submit a patch via RT instead.
• Please accompany your code with tests (we like full coverage where practical) and documentation. A merge request or patch with no tests and no docs is unlikely to be accepted, sorry.
• Please conform to the existing coding styles - use the .perltidyrc if in any doubt. (if the .perltidyrc is missing, please raise a ticket!)

Exposure/Kudos

This is a small project and would benefit from wider exposure. If you like the project (aims, style, concept, etc.) do please consider one or more of these methods of bringing it to the attention of a wider audience.

• Votes. There are a number of ways you can boost the project with a single click:

  • ++ at MetaCPAN
  • Star at GitLab

• Social media. It's the highlight/bane of the modern web (delete as appropriate). Just a short message to say you use this dist is a great start. There are places to post longer pieces (critiques, examples, comparisons, use cases, reviews) such as blogs.perl.org, PerlMonks Reviews, Medium, etc.

• Blogs, vlogs and podcasts. If you have your own blog (with audio, video or (gasp!) just the written word) why not tell your audience about this dist you've been using?

• Talks. Consider a short talk at your local Perl Mongers group, your workplace or at a workshop/conference.

• Code. Release your own code which uses this project as open source.

Lucre

Whisper it quietly: free as in beer rarely pays the bills. While we are not in this to get rich quick, a little recompense would go a long way. If you would like to contribute in a monetary form then please consider donating in one of these ways.

• Donate to the EPO, TPF, EFF, OSI, FSF or any other relevant TLA which appeals to you. Paying it forward like this is great for the community at large.
• Sponsor development. If there is a major feature you would like but which we do not consider meritorious enough to pursue gratis, consider sponsorship.
• Send us some swag! Contact details are at [https://www.openstrike.co.uk/aboutus.html]