I think it has been mentioned many times by now, specially with the "reverse job application" threads, that a recruiter would give considerable points to someone contributing to open source in his/her free time. What in your opinion looks better on a resume, a good long list of open source projects one might have had sent a few number of patches to, or a one or two projects with more significant contribution?
<i>a good long list of open source projects one might have had sent a few number of patches to</i><p>Personally I'd completely ignore such a list, unless it included some indication that the patches had been committed. I've seen far too many people congratulating themselves for contributing back to the community when their "contributions" are complete garbage.