Practice essential open-source vocabulary: licenses, governance terms, community roles, and collaboration language used in open-source projects.
0 / 8 completed
1 / 8
What is the difference between a 'permissive license' (e.g., MIT) and a 'copyleft license' (e.g., GPL)?
MIT/Apache (permissive) let you use, modify, and redistribute — including in closed-source products. GPL (copyleft/viral) requires that any derivative work must also be released under GPL. This is critical for commercial adoption decisions.
2 / 8
What is a 'fork' in open-source terminology?
Forking copies a repository to your account. You can develop independently (e.g., add features the original project will not accept) or submit changes back as pull requests. Forks keep git history from the original.
3 / 8
What does 'upstream' mean in open-source contribution workflows?
Upstream refers to the source project you forked from. 'Syncing with upstream' means pulling the original project's latest commits into your fork to keep it current. Changes you submit back go 'upstream'.
4 / 8
What does 'FOSS' stand for?
FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) refers to software that is both free (as in freedom — free to use, modify, distribute) and open source (source code is publicly available). Related terms: FLOSS (Free, Libre, Open Source Software).
5 / 8
What is a 'maintainer' vs. a 'contributor' in an open-source project?
Maintainers own the project direction, review and merge PRs, and manage releases. Contributors submit improvements but require maintainer approval. The distinction is about authority and ownership, not effort.
6 / 8
What does 'dogfooding' mean in a software team context?
Dogfooding ('eating your own dog food') means using your own software daily. It surfaces usability problems that users would hit but developers might miss. Many companies dogfood internal tools and beta features.
7 / 8
What is 'yak shaving' in engineering culture?
Yak shaving: you need to fix a bug, but first you need to update a dependency, which requires upgrading Node, which means fixing a build script... eventually you are 'shaving a yak' to do the original task. Common in complex development environments.
8 / 8
What does 'OSS' mean and what is 'open-washing'?
Open-washing is marketing software as 'open source' when it is not fully open — e.g., open-core models where core features are proprietary, or Business Source License where it becomes open after a delay. The open-source community is critical of this practice.
What will I practise in "Open Source Vocabulary (English)"?
This module focuses on Open Source Contribution — real workplace phrasing you'll use on the job. It contains 8 scenario-based multiple-choice questions with instant feedback.
Is this exercise free to use?
Yes. Every exercise on CoderSlingo, including this one, is free to use with no account or sign-up required.
How many questions does this exercise have?
This module includes 8 questions. Each one gives an immediate right/wrong result plus a full explanation of the correct phrasing.
What happens if I answer a question incorrectly?
You'll see the correct answer highlighted straight away, along with a plain-English explanation of why it's right and why the other options don't fit — mistakes are part of the learning here.
Can I retry the exercise if I want a better score?
Yes — use the 'Try again' button on the results screen to reset your score and go through the questions again. There's no limit on attempts.
Who is this Open Source Contribution exercise for?
It's aimed at IT professionals with working English who want to sound more natural and precise around open source contribution — useful whether you're preparing for real conversations at work or just building confidence with the vocabulary.
Do I need an account to track my progress?
No account is needed. Your progress through the exercise is tracked locally in your browser for the current session, and you can replay the module at any time.
How is this different from reading a blog article?
This exercise is an interactive drill that tests and reinforces specific phrasing through multiple-choice questions with instant feedback, while blog articles explain concepts and vocabulary in prose. The two work well together.
Where can I find more Open Source Contribution exercises?
See the Open Source Contribution hub for more modules like this one, or browse the full Exercises page for other IT-English topics.
Can I complete this exercise on my phone?
Yes — every exercise on CoderSlingo is fully responsive and works on phones and tablets, so you can practise anywhere.