Community: start here
Exponential Community members use, contribute to, promote and develop software using Exponential worldwide.
If you run an Exponential site, build one for someone else, write an extension, translate a screen, answer a question in the forums or tell a colleague about the project, you are part of the community. There is no sign-up form and no fee: the community is the people who take part.
This section explains how to take part well: where people meet, how to ask and how to answer, the ways to contribute and what each one needs from you, how the project makes its decisions and releases, and the paths from first visit to long-term contributor.
Note
Every fact in this section comes from a file of the repository (README.md, CONTRIBUTING.md,
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, SECURITY.md) or from another page of this help, and the source is named. Where the sources
say nothing, this section says so instead of guessing.
Contents
- Partners, Community and Ecosystem
- The community in one minute
- Where the community meets
- What you can do today
- Map of the community pages
- Neighboring sections
Partners, Community and Ecosystem
The help describes three circles of people around Exponential. They overlap, and most people belong to more than one.
| Circle | Who | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Partners | Exponential Partners contribute financially to the sustained future of the project, contribute code and more back to the project, and engage directly with 7x and the Exponential Foundation. | Partners: start here |
| Community | Exponential Community members use, contribute to, promote and develop software using Exponential worldwide. | this section |
| Ecosystem | The greater ecosystem extends beyond the community to cover all aspects of the Exponential world within the PHP stack: its users and creators. | Ecosystem: start here |
Partners, community and ecosystem explains how the three relate, and What the community is describes the community in more detail.
The community in one minute
- Two organizations, one open project. The company 7x leads development, support and hosting; the nonprofit Exponential Foundation operates the project (Who is 7x?, Who is the Exponential Foundation?). The community is everyone else who takes part, and the two organizations are part of it too.
- Everything is free software. The code is GNU GPL version 2 or later and the documentation GNU FDL 1.3 or later (Free documentation). What you contribute stays free for everyone.
- Every pull request is merged. While it is open, its author revises it through the review rounds; once merged,
main's history is never rewritten (How the project grows). - One code of conduct for everyone. The Contributor Covenant 2.1 with Exponential additions; reports go to [email protected] and the Exponential Foundation decides (The code of conduct).
- Help is public. Forums, a Telegram chat, an encyclopedia, documentation and public issue trackers.
- Why we do this. Why the project exists, why it stays free software, how 7x earns a living and why you are invited to join, with answers to doubts about our intentions: Our goals.
Where the community meets
| Place | Use it to | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Forums on Share | Ask and answer questions, discuss ideas | Where people meet |
| Telegram | Quick questions and conversation | same |
| eZpedia | Write down a trick so others can find it | Contributing to eZpedia |
| Projects | Share an extension | Sharing extensions and themes |
| GitHub, se7enxweb | Report bugs, send pull requests | Filing a bug, Contributing code |
| This help | Read, and improve any page with "Edit on GitHub" | Contributing documentation and help pages |
The full list, with what each place is for and the places that are only named without an address, is on The community channels.
What you can do today
| You have | Do this | Page |
|---|---|---|
| 10 minutes | Read the code of conduct; join the forums or Telegram; fix a typo on a help page | Your first week in the community |
| 1 hour | Answer one question; report one bug well; translate a few messages | Answering questions, Filing a bug |
| An afternoon | Make your first pull request | Your first contribution |
| A month | Take on a translation section, a tutorial or an issue | Ways to contribute |
| A budget | Sponsor 7x or the Foundation, or become a partner | Funding the community |
Map of the community pages
| Part | What it covers |
|---|---|
| What the community is | Who belongs, what members do, what the community is not |
| Partners, community and ecosystem | The three circles and how people move between them |
| Your first week in the community | Seven days, one small step each |
| Joining | Where people meet, introducing yourself, asking well, staying informed, the code of conduct |
| Contributing | Every way to contribute, the CLA, review, translations, testing, extensions |
| Helping others | Answering, welcoming, mentoring, writing tutorials, keeping help accurate |
| How it works | Who decides, releases, security reports, licenses, credit, funding |
| Paths | From user to contributor to maintainer or partner, and the community for each role |
| Local groups | Starting a group, contribution days, safety and privacy at events |
| Reading path, Checklists, FAQ, Glossary | Reference |
Neighboring sections
The community overlaps with three sections that go deeper into one kind of involvement. This section links into them instead of repeating them.
| Section | For | Read when |
|---|---|---|
| Advocates | People who speak, write and present about Exponential | You want to give a talk, write a post or answer objections |
| Supporters | Everyone who helps with time or money | You want the overview of all ways to help |
| Sponsors | People and companies who fund the work | You want to give money |
| Partners | Companies in the Exponential Partner Program | Your company wants to work directly with 7x and the Foundation |
| Ecosystem | The whole Exponential world in the PHP stack | You want the map of products, packages and organizations |
Related pages
- What the community is
- Community reading path
- Ecosystem: start here
- Advocates: start here
- Supporters: start here
- Sponsors: start here
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
Become an Exponential Partner
Partners share their information, provide funding, contribute back and develop the products with us, and that is how Exponential grows. A partner website and dashboard are planned for mid-2027: please become a partner today to speed up our growth rate and land new features faster.