How to find a good open source project to learn a new language

[JayInt]

One of the most exciting things for a developer beginning a startup is the no-holds barred opportunity to choose their new language for their product or service. However picking the right language/framework, especially if it's reasonably new can be a difficult task; I find the best way to understand a language is by getting stuck into some good code to see how the wheels turn.

How did you find a great example of the language/framework you implemented?

[tobylane]

Find something with good documentation, support, community, activity, non-corporate use (corporate use isn't as lively or forward-moving). It isn't so much a past example of some use of what you want, just that they are common. Marco of tumblr says they picked Php/etc because they wouldn't be the biggest user of it, which is something you might want to avoid.