[JoeKM]

I think discovering OSS projects for one's aptitude and interest is a field ripe for disruption. A few sites have been mentioned, but I think even more can be done. At the same time I wish GitHub was more newcomer friendly.

If you have a full-time job and family life, and side-projects of your own that are not OSS, how do you find time for OSS?

You need to find OSS that you're motivated to develop for. You shouldn't pick some random project that you have no interest in for the sake of boosting your GitHub activity. You need to set up your project environment. You need to debug/test your patches. You need to learn and conform to the coding standards of the project you're dealing with. You need to communicate with the project team and be available.

All these things together require a lot of time. Great if you're single and in college or without a job.

OSS projects, and GitHub in particular, have an elitist stigma surrounding them these days. I don't think it was like that ten years ago. All the Silicon Valley hot-shots are contributing to the OSS projects all over the place. One may think reading HN that everyone and their dog contributes to GitHub and is active, but I don't think that's the case (at least outside of Silicon Valley).