Why Many "Open Issues" Are Actually Not Available for Beginners
While contributing to open source projects recently, I noticed something interesting.
Many issues are marked Open, but beginners actually cannot work on them.
Why?
Because a Pull Request is already submitted and under review.
But since the PR is not merged yet, maintainers keep the issue open.
This creates confusion for new contributors.
Common Situation
You find an issue that looks perfect.
But after reading carefully you notice:
- Someone already submitted a PR
- Maintainers are reviewing the code
- Changes are requested
But the issue is still labeled Open.
So technically it looks available.
But it's not.
How to Avoid This Problem
Before starting any issue, check:
- Issue comments
- Linked pull requests
- Assigned contributors
- Labels like
good first issue
Also, always comment first before working.
This avoids duplicate work and helps maintainers coordinate contributions.
Advice for GSoC Aspirants
If you're preparing for Google Summer of Code, focus on consistent and meaningful contributions instead of rushing to open many PRs.
Maintainers remember contributors who:
- communicate well
- write clean code
- improve documentation
- help others in discussions
Open source is a long game.
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