What is a Microsoft Learn contributor?
Microsoft Learn is built on the expertise of thousands of individuals, from within and outside of Microsoft. Experts and passionate users from all over the world have become Microsoft Learn contributors and creators. But what exactly is a Microsoft Learn contributor, and what does it mean to contribute to the Microsoft Learn platform?
Microsoft Learn open-source philosophy
Microsoft Learn is made up of many different content communities that Microsoft manages. Wherever possible, Microsoft Learn keeps content open for public feedback and input. This open-source approach streamlines and improves communication between product engineers, content teams, and customers. It also has other advantages:
- Open-source repos plan in the open to get feedback on what docs are most needed.
- Open-source repos review in the open to publish the most helpful content on our first release.
- Open-source repos update in the open to make it easier to continuously improve the content.
Because participating in an open-source community is a shared technical experience, participants agree to follow the Microsoft Learn Open Source Code of Conduct. All repositories (the behind-the-scenes places where Microsoft Learn content is stored) that publish to Microsoft Learn have adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct or the .NET Foundation Code of Conduct. When you contribute, you agree to follow this Code of Conduct to make sure it’s a positive and respectful experience for all.
What is a Microsoft Learn contributor?
If you’ve ever used information from learn.microsoft.com, you’ve benefited from the work of a contributor. On Microsoft Learn, a contributor is anyone who adds to or changes content on the site to help create knowledge for others, or anyone who shares Microsoft Learn content and experiences with others to help them discover new learning opportunities. There are no special credentials needed--the task is open to anyone with expertise and a passion for sharing their learning.
A contribution to Microsoft Learn could be:
- A suggestion, edit, technical review, or update to source content on GitHub.
- A GitHub issue submitting feedback on content.
- A question, comment, or answer posted to Microsoft Q&A.
- A Collection of curated training content to share with others.
- A shared link to Microsoft Learn (for example, on social media).
Contributors improve the content and learning opportunities for everyone on Microsoft Learn. By drawing on the experience and expertise of a widespread and diverse audience, contributions clarify content for all users of Microsoft products and technologies.
Let’s look at some examples of how you might contribute. Recall that you have some expertise in Power Apps from your dental education app experience. You’re browsing through the Power Apps topic on Microsoft Q&A when you see a question about how to get started with AI Builder. You post a reply to the question, sharing your experience using AI Builder that you gained from your project work. Later, when reading through a tutorial in AI Builder’s documentation, you see an opportunity to clarify the instructions. You open a GitHub issue about the article to provide your feedback. You also know that your team is curious about AI Builder, but they’re missing some background knowledge to understand its applications, so you create and share a Collection with them. All of these are contributions you’ve made to Microsoft Learn.
Why should you become a contributor?
Contributions can be large or small, from adding new articles and discussions, to fixing a broken link. Your contribution doesn’t need to be gigantic to make a large impact. All contributions are valuable and help improve the Microsoft technologies and content offerings that many rely on.
The effects of sharing your knowledge can be far-reaching and long-lasting. When you share your knowledge, you’re helping others grow and improve. In doing so, you’re also building your collaboration, technical, subject-matter, and content-development skills. You’re progressing your own career and skill set while helping others improve theirs.
Becoming a contributor means you join a communal effort alongside like-minded peers. Contributors can grow to become thought leaders in their fields, and they might be recognized and showcased for their work.
Sharing your expertise with others helps everyone achieve more. Contributors are a vital and empowering pillar of Microsoft Learn, and you can join this global effort!
Now that you have a sense of the impact that contributors can have, let’s look at some ways that you can contribute to Microsoft Learn.