Level Up 7: Knows why we contribute to Open Source

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1. Why do we contribute back to Open Source?

The primary reason we contribute back to Open Source is that the vast majority of the software we use is Open Source. Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Apache, Linux, jQuery, among many other software, are made freely available for use. The second reason we contribute back is to improve the software that we use internally. Open Source projects depend on the community to provide updates, whether this is a security patch or major contribution. Without contributing back, we run the risk that the software won't progress and stay relevant. Finally, it allows individual developers to improve their skills and work on the same code base as some of the world's most experienced developers.

2. What is our policy on Open Source contributions?

There are several important facets to the Enova policy:
- Declaring a project owner who is responsible for the project.
- Adding an MIT license.
- Hosting it on the Enova Github space.
- Writing a top-level README.
- Obtaining approval from management before releasing it.
- Marketing the software through blog posts, conference talks and other means.
- Not releasing code that is a competitive advantage to Enova.
- Ensuring the integrity of Enova's and our customers' data.