Want to share your insights with the MDS community? Contributing to the MDS blog is easy and fun! Just follow these steps to get your blog post published with the help of our Editor, Varada Kolhatkar (@kvarada):

1. Reach Out

First things first—get in touch with the Editor, Varada Kolhatkar, at kvarada@cs.ubc.ca to discuss your blog idea and how you’d like to contribute. We’re excited to hear what you have in mind!

2. Fork the Repository

Head over to the repo that houses this site and fork it to your GitHub account. This will be your workspace.

3. Create a Branch

In your forked repo, create a new branch specifically for your blog post. This keeps everything neat and organized.

4. Write Your Blog Post

Now, the fun part! Write your blog post in Markdown format (.md). You can check out existing posts for inspiration.

  • Place your .md file in the _posts folder of your branch.
  • Make sure to include the following configuration at the top of your file:
---
layout: post
title: {Title of the Post}
subtitle: by {Author of the Post}
share-img: "link-of-an-image"
---
  • The fourth line share-img is optional, but it’s best to include one for future social media sharing. Here is an example.
  • Consider adding a line break after each line of text. This will allow the diffs to show up much better while the post is being edited.
  • Don’t forget to add a byline at the end of your post with your name and a short bio:
## Authors:
[Author Name](link-to-your-bio) is {brief description of yourself}
  • If you include images in your post, create a new folder under img/blog (give it a proper name) and place your images there.

5. Submit a Pull Request

Once your masterpiece is ready, submit a pull request from your branch to the blog repo.

  • Important: Double-check that you’re sending the PR to the correct repo. We’ve had contributors accidentally send it to the parent repo—let’s avoid that!

6. Let Us Know

Give us a heads-up once your PR is submitted, and we’ll review it. If all looks good, we’ll merge it.

7. Celebrate!

And just like that—Tada! Your blog post is live on our website for the world to see. 🎉