React just left meta. Here's what that means for developers
5 hours ago
- #governance
- #react
- #open-source
- React has moved to the React Foundation under the Linux Foundation, with Meta committing over $3 million for five years.
- Foundations provide legal and operational structure, separating technical governance from business governance, ensuring no single corporation controls the project.
- Kubernetes thrived under the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), showing how neutrality can foster collaboration among competitors.
- Node.js faced a governance crisis leading to a fork (io.js), which was resolved by forming the Node.js Foundation, highlighting foundations' role in healing community fractures.
- .NET Foundation serves as a cautionary tale where independence was more nominal than actual, with Microsoft still driving most technical decisions.
- Rust Foundation stabilized funding post-Mozilla layoffs but faced backlash over restrictive trademark policies, showing the balance foundations must strike.
- Meta previously successfully transitioned GraphQL to a foundation, providing a positive precedent for React's move.
- Skeptics raise concerns about potential bureaucracy slowing React down, Meta's continued employment of core team members, and the foundation's long-term sustainability.
- For developers, immediate changes are minimal, but the long-term health of React depends on the foundation's ability to maintain independence and community engagement.
- The move aims to reduce bus factor, ensuring React's survival isn't tied to Meta's strategic priorities, joining other major projects like Linux and Kubernetes in foundation governance.