Hobbyist Maintainers with Thomas DePierre
13 days ago
- #maintainers
- #funding
- #open-source
- Thomas DePierre discusses the disconnect between corporate consumers of open source and hobbyist maintainers who produce it.
- Most open source maintainers are unpaid hobbyists, with 60% describing themselves as such, according to Tidelift reports.
- Open source is now dominant, with 95-99% of proprietary codebases using open source components.
- Hobbyist maintainers face challenges like limited time, lack of funding, and the need for stability in their contributions.
- Initiatives like OpenSSF struggle to spend money effectively because they don't understand the constraints of hobbyist maintainers.
- Rust is highlighted as a language that helps hobbyist maintainers by reducing maintenance burdens with features like better error handling and package management.
- Funding models for open source often fail to address the needs of hobbyist maintainers, who require stable, long-term income rather than short-term grants.
- Regulators and foundations often misunderstand the reality of hobbyist maintainers, leading to ineffective policies and solutions.