Hello, RANDOM PERSON! The slides from my #EverythingOpen #EO2026 talk "The unreasonable cost of open source contribution" are now up at https://robn.au/open-source-cost . The slide notes have something very close to a transcript (I write my talks out in long form) if you want the talk parts and can't wait for the video (hopefully within a few weeks)!

The response has been kind, thoughtful and heartwarming. I've had so many interesting conversations today with people that had their own stories about their time in open source, or their reasons for not contributing more. A couple of Proper Community Organiser people that I look up to gave me encouraging feedback, which made me giggle just a little bit.

I'm still very uncomfortable about the money specifics in particular, which is partly why it's taken a day to post this. But so far everyone has been gracious and capable of nuance, so I have hope that it will continue to be understood, and provide a bit of cover and permission for others to talk about their own experiences and help flesh out the size and scope of the problem we face. If the conversation goes that way, it'll be a reward that far outweighs the risk.

I dunno if open source in its current form can be saved, but if the people I've talked to today will be there for the next thing, maybe it won't matter 💚