Introduction: JD Wilson

Hello, world!

Who

My name is JD Wilson. I am in the USA, Eastern Time Zone. I am a database developer/DBA with prior experience in both web and desktop development. My main focus these days is SQL, though most of my past work experience has been full stack web development. I've worked with the following web languages: PHP, Java (Apache Wicket), Coldfusion, HTML, CSS, Javascript/JQuery, Bootstrap, and Materialize CSS. I've played around with NodeJS, Spring, React, and C#. My web skills are admittedly a bit rusty, so I'll be best suited with some of the easier fixes.

What

I would like to contribute to the Fedora website development. Something I immediately noticed while creating my account was the outdated look and feel of the Fedora admin page (https://admin.fedoraproject.org/). I think there are a lot of easy fixes to make that section of the site look more modern, and to make the pages mobile-first. I'm assuming this area has higher access rights since I did not get the code to it when following these instructions (https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/How_to_fix_bugs_on_the_Fedora_Project_website). I also realize that a redesign of the site like that would require collaboration with the more senior members and would not be a solo-decision. It's just something that I thought would be a fun area to start contributing!

Why

I've wanted to contribute to Linux since I first began using it years ago, I just never knew how. The openness of the Fedora project to volunteers is what made me choose it over Ubuntu years ago. I knew that one day I would be writing an email like this, and to be honest it feels weird that I'm finally here. Time flies! I feel I am useful enough as a professional to make a difference in the Fedora community. I love the idea of open source software and I am ready to "walk the walk", to contribute to the success of Fedora rather than just stand on the shoulders of others. I don't just want to use Fedora, I want to help build it!

I can pretty easily contribute 2-4 hours a week to start, and I would be willing to ramp it up as I get more involved with the team. My IRC handle is wilsonj. I am still trying to figure out exactly how all of this works, so I welcome any and all onboarding assistance.

Look forward to meeting you all,

JD