I agree. The UI in java.net isn't as good as sf.net (no offense intended.. just feedback). It's sometimes hard to find the files to download, hard to browse through source code. And the documentation and screenshots are often hard to find. Before getting interested in any project I look for documentation and/or screenshots and/or demo sites. Once I'm interested I download and try it out. You have to do that since there are a zillion projects around. Also release notes and easier bug submission would be nice.

I had trouble accessing CVS from eclipse. Eclipse may not be a sun product but I think it is very problematic if users of the most popular java IDE can't access java.net projects Correct me if I am wrong ..

By reading, downloading and playing, you may be contributing to yourself and your project(s), maybe your employer or client(s), but you are not putting anything back into the community. I'm not being hifalutin - I'm in the same boat (though I've submitted bugs and particiapte in forums). On the other hand I'm working hard to commit code to one project and perhaps start another. Until I do, I feel like a user, not a contributor. Promoting OS projects, is a contribution - talking to friends, project managers, etc. But you wouldn't say your contributing to McDonalds if you told a friend you like their salads, would you?