Yet another OSS maintainer quits because of burnout. To fix this, we need better mental health resources for maintainers.
Report on Burnout in Open Source Software
I am currently working on a report on the causes of burnout in open source software, and am inviting the OSS community to share their thoughts!
Burnout in Open Source: A Structural Problem We Can Fix Together ✸ Software Stewardship Lab
Burnout is affecting the entire Open Source ecosystem. Here's what we could do to make things better.
Burnout in Open Source: A Structural Problem We Can Fix Together | Open Source Pledge
Burnout is affecting the entire Open Source ecosystem. Here's what we could do to make things better.
The Missing Middle of Open Source
Why serious, maintainer-driven projects struggle to sustain themselves—and what it will take to fix it.
Sustainable Open Source: The Maintainers Perspective or: How I Learned to Stop Caring and Love Open Source
Open Source Maintainers Owe You Nothing
This post is heavily inspired by my experience over the last ten years participating in the open source community and eight years as a maintainer of Homebrew (which I’ve maintained longer than anyone else at this point).
Burnout Phase Transition - meri's missives
Modelling chronic stress effects on my mental health and the end of monopolies
Open Source Resistance
A direct-action manifesto for maintainers keeping open source alive on company time.
The Few, the Tired, the Open Source Coders
The open source movement runs on the heroic efforts of not enough people doing too much work. They need help.
What it feels like to be an open-source maintainer
Outside your door stands a line of a few hundred people. They are patiently waiting for you to answer their questions, complaints, pull requests, and feature requests. You want to help all of them,…
What it feels like to be an open-source maintainer
Outside your door stands a line of a few hundred people. They are patiently waiting for you to answer their questions, complaints, pull requests, and feature requests. You want to help all of them,…
Stormlight Labs
Building open-source tools for mental well-being, productivity, and education. - Stormlight Labs
Open Source Gave Me Everything Until I Had Nothing Left to Give
I thought I was having a spiritual awakening. I was having a psychiatric emergency. I was at a tech conference in Sweden when it started. I hadn't slept in...
Vibe Coding Is Killing Open Source Software, Researchers Argue
‘If the maintainers of small projects give up, who will produce the next Linux?’
Vibe Coding Kills Open Source
Generative AI is changing how software is produced and used. In vibe coding, an AI agent builds software by selecting and assembling open-source software (OSS), often without users directly reading documentation, reporting bugs, or otherwise engaging with maintainers. We study the equilibrium effects of vibe coding on the OSS ecosystem. We develop a model with endogenous entry and heterogeneous project quality in which OSS is a scalable input into producing more software. Users choose whether to use OSS directly or through vibe coding. Vibe coding raises productivity by lowering the cost of using and building on existing code, but it also weakens the user engagement through which many maintainers earn returns. When OSS is monetized only through direct user engagement, greater adoption of vibe coding lowers entry and sharing, reduces the availability and quality of OSS, and reduces welfare despite higher productivity. Sustaining OSS at its current scale under widespread vibe coding requires major changes in how maintainers are paid.
