I Got a Free Mug from Mattermost — Here's the Honest Story
I didn't plan any of this.
I was 18, just finished 12th standard, sitting at home with nothing specific to do. Started browsing GitHub randomly. Saw something called "good first issue." Clicked it. That's how this whole thing started.
The First PR
Found a small change I could make in Mattermost. Submitted it. Then refreshed GitHub probably 50 times waiting for someone to respond 😅
When it got merged on June 29, I took a screenshot. Showed my family. They didn't understand what it meant. I didn't explain. I just sat there feeling something I couldn't quite describe.
The Mug Thing
I didn't even know contributor mugs existed until someone mentioned it. Found out Mattermost sends a personalized mug for first-time contributors.
Then started the chaos 😂
I messaged Lindy Isherwood from the Mattermost team probably way too many times asking about tracking IDs, shipping dates, whether the mug was confirmed, whether my address was correct... She was patient with me throughout. More patient than I deserved honestly.
The shipment got stuck on "Out for Pickup" for 3 days straight. I called Delhivery. Emailed Shiprocket. Messaged John. Nothing moved.
Then one day I told Lindy about the problem — and it got picked up the same day. Coincidence? Maybe. But I like to think telling someone about your problem makes it disappear sometimes 😄
August 17,
Faridabad - Bangalore - Tamilnadu - my door.
When the delivery boy handed me the box I just stood there for a second.
Opened it.
Mattermost Mug
What I Actually Learned,
You don't need to be an expert. I wasn't.
Small contributions count. Mine was tiny.
Community people are more helpful than you expect — if you're respectful.
Patience is harder than coding sometimes 😅
Open source from a small village in Tamil Nadu is completely possible.
If You Want to Try,
Find a project you use. Look for "good first issue." Submit something. It'll feel scary. Do it anyway.
The mug is nice. But honestly, knowing that my code is somewhere in a product used by thousands of people — that's the real thing.
GitHub: @nivaas219 : https://github.com/nivaas219 | Twitter: @nivaas412496 : https://x.com/nivaas412496
Top comments (1)
Thanks to @mattermost_community