Eclipse Top Ten: #3 Ask for directions and help people find their way

The eclipse.org ecosystem has a huge wealth of talented people with a broad range of experience.
They are willing to help.
They love talking about what they do.
In fact, sometimes it’s hard to get them to stop.
Go out into the hallway after this presentation and I guarantee you'll find someone who won't stop talking about their project.
We are passionate about open source software.
So, if you don’t understand something ask for help.
Bugzilla, forums, mailing lists, Twitter, IRC.
Sometimes I arrive for work in the morning and see a post on planeteclipse from someone who's ranting at an eclipse project.   It can be ugly.
If this is a project under the Eclipse or Equinox umbrella, I often look and see if the blogger has opened any bugs or asked questions on newsgroups or mailing lists.
A lot of the time, they haven't.
Don’t get angry, just ask.
We’re listening. We can help. 
Once you're armed with knowledge, you can help others find their way.

And you too, can become a mentor.

Previous Top Ten posts
1, 2