In a recent non-public thread on Google Plus about what someone saw as too much low-quality code on CPAN, Brian Cassidy gave some great thoughts (quoted with his permission) about how to handle contributions from newcomers:
New authors should not be "beaten" for not following standard practices, rather coached and mentored into becoming productive members of our culture. Disciplining new authors is counter not only to our culture, but it goes against the release early/release often mantra we often hear in the open source ecosystem.
It's very easy to dismiss someone as ignorant and cast them aside (in retrospect, I'm ashamed to say I've done it too). The hard road is to offer them a hand, show them the ropes.
Not everybody has time for that, and we'll never save people from themselves (no matter how hard we try). But before you rush to dismiss someone's effort (that they've submitted for public scrutiny, no less) think about how you would've like to have been treated when you were new.
A kind word of encouragement can go a long way.
Do you have tales to tell of how you helped guide a newcomer, whether in Perl or elsewhere? Please post your stories.
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