[[thoughts-connecting]]
=== Connecting with the Community

[role="summary"]
How to connect and get involved in the open-source community.

(((Community,connecting with)))
(((Drupal project,connecting with)))
(((Event,Drupal)))
(((Interest group,finding)))
(((User group,finding)))
(((Group,finding)))
(((Drupal user group,finding)))
(((IRC (Internet Relay Chat),using to chat online)))
(((Internet Relay Chat (IRC),using to chat online)))
(((Chatting online)))
(((Contributing to the project)))
(((Bug,reporting)))

==== Prerequisite knowledge

<<understanding-project>>

==== How can you connect with the community?

The Drupal project has a world-wide community of developers and users. One of
the best ways to improve your knowledge of the platform is to connect with
others that are using it, and get involved in the open-source community. There
are many ways that you can get started:

Attend an event::
  There are both regional and international Drupal events held around the
  world. See the https://events.drupal.org["DrupalCon" page on _Drupal.org_]
  to find international events, and the
  https://groups.drupal.org/events["Event Calendar" on _groups.drupal.org_]
  or https://www.drupical.com/[_drupical.com_] to find regional events.
Join a local group::
  There are Drupal user groups all around the world. Many of them have regular
  meetings, which you can attend to learn more about Drupal and connect to other
  Drupal users. Find local user groups on
  https://groups.drupal.org/[_groups.drupal.org_].
Participate in a topical or language group::
  There are also interest groups for a wide range of topics, which have on-line
  discussion forums. Find topical groups on
  https://groups.drupal.org/[_groups.drupal.org_]. Many languages have
  their own websites too; you can find them on the
  https://www.drupal.org/language-specific-communities["Language-specific
  communities" page on _Drupal.org_].
Chat online::
  The Drupal project uses IRC for on-line chatting. There are regional, topical,
  and general-purpose chat groups available. Find out more on the
  https://www.drupal.org/ircchat["IRC" page on _Drupal.org_].
Report a problem::
  See below.
Contribute::
  You can contribute your time and expertise to the community in many ways, such
  as:
  * Developing modules or themes. See the
    https://www.drupal.org/contribute/development["Contribute to Development"
    page on _Drupal.org_], or improving them (using the issue queues for existing
    projects).
  * Translating the user interface. See
    https://localize.drupal.org[_localize.drupal.org_].
  * Writing documentation. See
    https://www.drupal.org/contribute/documentation["Contribute to
    Documentation" on _Drupal.org_].
  * Answer Support questions. See <<thoughts-support>>.

==== How can you report a problem or suggest a feature?

Each project within the community (such as the Drupal Core project for the base
software, and projects for each contributed theme and module) uses _issues_ to
keep track of software bugs and plans for new features. You can participate by
creating a bug report when you find a problem, creating a feature request, or
commenting on existing issues. Search before creating an issue, to
make sure that the problem or feature has not already been reported or
requested. See the
https://www.drupal.org/issue-queue[_Drupal.org_ page "Use the issue queue"] and the
https://www.drupal.org/node/314185[_Drupal.org_ page "Reporting a problem"] for
more information.

If you find a problem that you believe is related to security, such as a
cross-site scripting vulnerability, do not report it in the standard issue
queue. Instead, report it to the security team. See the
https://www.drupal.org/node/101494[_Drupal.org_ page "How to report a security issue"] for details.

==== Related topics

<<thoughts-support>>

==== Additional resources

* https://www.drupal.org/dcoc["Code of Conduct" on _Drupal.org_]

* https://groups.drupal.org/events["Event Calendar" on _groups.drupal.org_] or
https://www.drupical.com/[_drupical.com_]

* https://www.drupal.org/community["Where is the Drupal Community?" page on
_Drupal.org_]

* https://groups.drupal.org/[_groups.drupal.org_]

* https://www.drupal.org/ircchat["IRC" page on _Drupal.org_]

* https://www.drupal.org/contribute["Ways to get involved" page on _Drupal.org_]

* https://www.drupal.org/node/2486391[_Drupal.org_ page "Why get involved?"]

* https://www.drupal.org/contributor-tasks[_Drupal.org_ page "Contributor tasks"]

* https://www.drupal.org/issue-queue[_Drupal.org_ page "Use the issue queue"]

* https://www.drupal.org/node/314185[_Drupal.org_ page "Reporting a problem"]

* https://www.drupal.org/node/101494[_Drupal.org_ page "How to report a security issue"]


*Attributions*

Written by https://www.drupal.org/u/jhodgdon[Jennifer Hodgdon],
and https://www.drupal.org/u/eojthebrave[Joe Shindelar] at
https://drupalize.me[Drupalize.Me].
