On many occasions, we have talked about the OCA, the open Odoo community where countless essential modules for our ERP are developed and shared. However, like any organization, it requires rules—whether explicit or implicit—for its proper functioning. In this article, we want to present our vision of the foundations that enable the creation of a prosperous and healthy collaborative environment, foundations that are essentially determined by common sense and responsibility.
First, we should talk about how module development works and how contributors participate. A contributor makes a contribution—whether it’s a migration, a new development, a fix, or an improvement—and then asks other contributors to take part by reviewing the work, providing feedback on whether it functions correctly or how it should be done, and, if they agree, giving their approval.
It is important to remember that, for a development to be considered valid, it must be approved by two or more contributors, including a PSC maintainer, who will then include the development in the corresponding project. Project maintainers (PSCs) are contributors selected for their extensive track record within the community and their deep expertise in the subject matter of the project, such as accounting.
1. Help before needing help
In this situation, when we decide to contribute a development, we request the work of other contributors to validate it and help us improve our work. That is why it is always better to have first helped other contributors with their developments, so that they see us as active and committed collaborators and are willing to offer their help.
Simply put, a non-profit community benefits from the exchange of work, and in this case, it is almost always better to have helped others with our work before requesting collaboration.
2. Keep the community in mind
On the other hand, when we decide to contribute a development to the community, it is usually something related to ourselves and our activity. This is understandable, as who better than us to identify the need for what we are working on, which may also benefit others.
But not only that—since we are in a collaborative and supportive environment, it is highly recommended to go one step further. Instead of simply contributing the development we are working on, if we help with other related developments or adapt our development to other versions where it may be needed, we will be seen as collaborators who support the work of others. This puts us in a position where other contributors may provide contributions that can benefit us, such as migrating modules we have created.
3. Take responsibility for our work
Finally, following the idea of contributing developments, it is very important to take responsibility for them—addressing comments from others or even any requests for help in other situations. We should also stay attentive to changes in modules we have created or are maintaining. This way, we will be seen as responsible and attentive collaborators, and others will be more willing to help us.
4. Help each other at every link in the chain
As a bonus, it is worth mentioning the need to show solidarity with PSC maintainers. The volume of community developments continues to grow rapidly, making it increasingly difficult to keep track of developments within a project. Therefore, if we can help them by making it easier to review everything properly before including it in the project, we will make the whole process much smoother.
In conclusion, the OCA is an excellent community whose work and track record have been firmly established over the years. However, it is important to remember these implicit ethical principles, which will undoubtedly make collaboration a more enjoyable and fruitful experience. Also, keep in mind that the OCA website has a section to better understand how it works how it works and is structured, as well as a section with user manuals for proper collaboration, which is advisable to review before contributing.