howto_contribute.md

# How-To Contribute

!!! cite "Chinese proverb"

    Ink is better than the best memory.

Even though we try to cover all aspects of working with the ZIH systems and keep the documentation
up to date, you might miss something. In principle, there are three possible ways how you can
contribute to this documentation as outlined below.

## Content Rules

To ensure a high-quality and consistent documentation and to make it easier for readers to
understand all content, we set some [content rules](content_rules.md). Please follow this rules when
contributing! Furthermore, reviewing your changes take less time and your improvements appear faster on
the official documentation.

!!! note

    Each user is fully and solely responsible for the content he/she creates and has to ensure that
    he/she has the right to create it under the laws which apply.

## Contribute via Issue

Users can contribute to the documentation via the
[GitLab issue tracking system](https://gitlab.hrz.tu-chemnitz.de/zih/hpcsupport/hpc-compendium/-/issues).
For that, open an issue to report typos and missing documentation or request for more precise
wording etc. ZIH staff will get in touch with you to resolve the issue and improve the
documentation.

??? tip "Create an issue in GitLab"

    ![GIF showing how to create an issue in GitLab](misc/create_gitlab_issue.gif)
    {: align=center}

!!! warning "HPC support"

    Non-documentation issues and requests need to be send as ticket to
    [hpcsupport@zih.tu-dresden.de](mailto:hpcsupport@zih.tu-dresden.de).

## Contribute via Web IDE

If you have a web browser (most probably you are using it to read this page) and want to contribute
to the documentation, you are good to go. GitLab offers a rich and versatile web interface to work
with repositories. To start fixing typos and edit source files, please find more information on
[Contributing via web browser](contribute_browser.md).

## Contribute via Local Clone

For experienced Git users, we provide a Docker container that includes all checks of the CI engine
used in the back-end. Using them should ensure that merge requests will not be blocked
due to automatic checking.
The page on [Contributing via local clone](contribute_container.md) provides you with the details
about how to setup and use your local clone.