Is there a Lemmy community for “someone should make this”? Similar to reddit’s r/SomebodyMakeThis.

And alternatively, this thread could serve as one: what are some software projects that I/others could take on? Ideally small enough in scope that I could make something partially usable in a weekend or two.

Previously I’ve just worked on whatever I found fun to program, but it would be nice to hear things that people actually want that don’t exist yet, and would be interested in trying it even when it is only partially finished. I’m not sure about others but I find my day job is often full of meetings or bureaucracy, and I don’t often get the satisfaction of seeing people happy with something that I built. (I wonder if this feeling is more common in other types of work)

  • 𝕽𝖚𝖆𝖎𝖉𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍@midwest.social
    24·
    6 days ago

    Honestly, find an existing project in your language of choice with an active maintainer and start fixing tickets.

    You start a new project, odds are you’re stuck maintaining it for years, and it becomes a job, or it dies. IME, it’s far better to find a project you yourself use and like, that you’re capable of contributing to, and doing that. Start popping stuff off the bug list, if you’re a hero, or implement that missing feature in the backlog that you want. Your commitment to the project is a patch. Or, maybe you like working with the project and you become a long term contributor.

    That’s just my recommendation. I’m not saying don’t start something new; just, if you’re looking around for things to do, and aren’t passionately trying to scratch an itch you haven’t found a solution for, you’re most likely just going to create a throw-away project.

    Just my opinion.

    • axby@lemmy.caOP
      4·
      6 days ago

      Thanks, this is something I was considering. I’ve always wanted to dive into the code for something like VLC or Firefox, but I feel like it would take a while before it becomes fun. I still plan on doing it when I feel like I have more free time. Maybe I need to find simpler projects.

      I guess in this post I was hoping for something that could have meaningful progress made in a few hours, without a ton of ramping up time. Maybe that doesn’t exist?

      • 𝕽𝖚𝖆𝖎𝖉𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍@midwest.social
        2·
        5 days ago

        I do this all the time, so yes, it exists. Usually, though, I’m trying to accomplish something specific for which I haven’t found a solution, or existing solutions don’t work for me.

        What I’m saying is that maintaining a project that other people use becomes a commitment, and IME that’s where the fun ends. It’s one thing if I’m writing something for myself, because I’m the main user and I can be cavalier about requests and tickets.

        But, I write throw-away stuff all the time, and it all goes into public repos. I doubt anyone is using most of them.