Here's a great initiative from our good friend and Bitcoin Core contributor, John Newbery, who is taking the bull by the horns and leading a review club for Bitcoin Core pull requests over the next few weeks. A great way to begin to immerse yourself in the process of contributing to Bitcoin if you have been sitting there on the sidelines bobbing back and forth, as one does before they jump between the double dutch ropes, waiting to build up the courage to jump into the fray. Join John and other inspired potential contributors in the Freenode IRC #bitcoin-core-pr-reviews channel.

This isn't your girlfriend's local book club where she lugs a book to her friend's house only to throw it to the wayside for a bottle of rosé and Vanderpump Rules gossip. This is a serious gathering of inquisitive minds looking to collaboratively learn with someone who has an understanding of the Bitcoin Core review process that is matched by very few people. Approach this review club with some respect and humility.

In all seriousness, if you are a developer out there who has been looking to contribute, but been a bit apprehensive due to how daunting the concept of approaching Bitcoin development can be, this is a great place to start for many reasons. Collaborative learning is a great way to quickly bounce ideas and questions off people to help get you to a base layer of comfort. Bitcoin needs as many testers and reviewers as possible, so the more who people who are learning to review and test, the better. And, again, bootstrapping an understanding from someone with a very deep understanding of the process will be invaluable.

So if you're out there, reading this rag, and looking to contribute; get your digital ass to the Freenode IRC #bitcoin-core-pr-reviews channel at 1PM EST today. Bitcoin needs you. If not you, then who?

Final thought...

I think I've been getting bad haircuts for a couple of years and have been in denial about it.