Short Summary
Hi! I'm Lucy.
I'm a longstanding member of the Dreamwidth community, where folks know me as randomling. Over the past two years, I've been volunteering as a developer for this excellent open-source project: contributing patches, writing documentation, cheerleading, and holding the hands of new programmers (or “babydevs”, as we like to call them in Dreamwidth slang) through their first steps towards coding.
I'm relatively new to software development myself. I was originally trained in linguistics, and have a professional background in administration. I've always had an interest in computers and especially the web, so when the opportunity to learn to code – and help out my favourite site at the same time – came up, I jumped at the chance. Dreamwidth has been incredibly supportive.
I've now been offered a fantastic opportunity: to attend my very first technical conference with some of my fellow Dreamwidth developers. I'm one of the volunteers that Dreamwidth has chosen to fly out to Austin, Texas for YAPC::NA and the associated Dreamwidth hackathon. My contributions to this project will be enhanced enormously by this opportunity to attend a conference focusing on the language Dreamwidth is written in – but unfortunately, the financial side is a bit tricky.
Health issues mean I am not able to work, and the current UK Government's attitude to sickness and disability means I was recently turned down for benefits I am entitled to. I am appealing the decision, but this will take an enormous amount of time, effort and stress.
To get the most out of this opportunity, I'm asking for your help. Dreamwidth is generously paying for my flight, accommodation and conference registration, but my lack of income means that I will struggle to feed myself while I'm out there (my family are kindly taking care of me financially at home) – never mind attend the lunchtime and evening social events that are a key benefit of attending a professional conference.
With your help, I'll be able to invest more effort and more productivity into Dreamwidth – and any leftover funds will be donated straight back to the project, to support other volunteers having a tough time.
What I Need & What You Get
What I Need
I'll be in Austin for 7 days. $500 should cover:
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$50 a day. This should be more than enough to cover breakfast, lunch and dinner, a reasonable contribution to gas and car rental (I'll be making use of someone else's rented car), and any incidental expenses that might come up.
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$150 emergency money. This obviously won't cover a major medical emergency, but it'll be helpful if unexpected expenses come up. I'm hoping that I won't need this extra money, and I'll be able to feed it straight back into the Dreamwidth project.
What You Get
When it comes to offering perks, I have two major skills to use. One, obviously, is programming. The other is writing.
I'm offering to fix bugs for cash, on a sliding scale! You can pick any one (or several, depending on the amount donate) of the bugs on this list of easy bugs, and I will hack away and get them fixed! Obviously this is most relevant if you use Dreamwidth on a regular basis, because this has the potential to improve your experience of the site.
I'm offering to write a story for you – one you help to create yourself! This could be a fan fiction story (have a look at my list of fandoms) or an original one. Provide me with a prompt, a paragraph about what you like, or a list of things you'd like to see included, and I'll write something just for you based on your idea.
The Impact
Getting the most out of this conference will make a huge difference to me – and, I think, to the users of Dreamwidth.
Programming is my dream job. I love the challenge of trying to understand a forest of code, or of working out how to make something new behave just the way you want it to. I love looking at a site and being able to point to the features I wrote, and I love the enormous amount of learning that I've done over the past two years. This conference is my first contact with the wider world of professional programming – and I want to make the most of the opportunity. It brings me one step closer to my goal of a career in software development.
I like to think that my participation in the conference, and more importantly the hackathon, will make a difference to Dreamwidth. One bug I'm hoping to devote lots of time to while I'm in Texas is a quick-account-switch system which would make a huge positive difference to many DW users (including myself; then again, it's no surprise that programmers like to scratch their own itches). A fellow programmer has already done lots of work on this, and it would be fantastic to get it up and running.
Ultimately, I want to use my programming skills to change the world. Fully engaging with this conference will really increase my chances of being able to do that – improving my skills, putting me in touch with a wider circle of developers, and broadening my experience.
Other Ways You Can Help
Not everyone has the financial wherewithal to donate – but you can still help out! Use the Share tools to tell your friends about the campaign, and boost the signal any way you can. I appreciate every single post and tweet.
With your help, I can get where I'm headed – and make a real difference when I arrive!