Mastodawn

Does anyone know of any recent studies around the effectiveness of different extrinsic (e.g. financial) vs intrinsic (e.g. community altruism) motivators for open source contributors?

Asking for me, a friend, and also the rest of the OSS community.

Miranda Heath Mar 6

Had fun chatting with @richlitt for the @sustainoss podcast! Listen as we meander from kidney donors to forest floor detritus to death doulas, all while (somehow) keeping it on the topic of open source sustainability and maintainer burnout 🌱 https://podcast.sustainoss.org/285

Miranda Heath on Altruism & Burnout in Open Source

Miranda joins host Richard to dive into altruism, maintainer motivation, and burnout in open source communities.

Sustain

Miranda Heath Mar 3

Open Source Pledge Mar 3

Congratulations to the npmx.dex team on their launch day 🎉❤️

Here's @vlad on how npmx's success shows us why Open Source collaboration itself is so special.

https://opensourcepledge.com/blog/npmx-a-lesson-in-open-source-collaboration-feedback-loops/

npmx: A Lesson in Open Source's Collaboration Feedback Loops | Open Source Pledge

npmx's success is reminding us why Open Source is such a special social phenomenon.

Open Source Pledge

Miranda Heath Feb 28

Andrew Nesbitt Feb 21

What happens when a large open source project dies?

https://nesbitt.io/2026/02/21/whale-fall.html

Whale Fall

What happens when a large open source project dies.

Andrew Nesbitt

Miranda Heath Feb 16

I'm curious about the concept of unionisation or similar in Open Source and the challenges associated with it. If you know anyone who has written/thought about this (or if you have thoughts of your own) I'd love to hear/chat about it!

Miranda Heath Feb 16

DeeAnn Little @ #NOAW Feb 15

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a new role (20hr/w) in developer/community relations, accessibility, fediverse and opensource strategy. I have 30+ years experience in F/OSS, in various domains (SW/HW/...).
and a good handle on how things work together, across teams and projects.
I am located in Regensburg, DE but have been and prefer working remotely (Europe is best due to timezones). CV: http://dlittle.de/DeeAnnLittle_CV.pdf
#followerpower #accessibility, #fediverse #opensource #linux
#FediHire #GetFediHired

Miranda Heath Feb 12

Hylke Bons 🥜Feb 12

RE: https://wandering.shop/@afeinman/116057572822970742

hate (not really) to say I told you so but I told you so.

Miranda Heath Jan 25

Can you help me make a list of people/orgs working on problems that cause burnout in OSS to share at FOSDEM?

I'm looking for work on: OSS advocacy (to govs & companies), OSS value metrics, payment and governance models, dependencies research, community events/spaces, mentor schemes, codes of conduct, AI attestation, AI use policy/guidance, minimising the burden of issue triage/code review, access to coaching/mental health support, and more!

Let's shine a light on people making a difference! ✨

Miranda Heath Jan 24

Vlad-Stefan Harbuz Jan 24

“Public money flows around Open Source instead of into it. Governments should contract with Open Source maintainers and builders, not middlemen who merely resell it.”

https://dri.es/funding-open-source-for-digital-sovereignty

Funding Open Source for Digital Sovereignty

Open Source alone won't deliver digital sovereignty. Europe must fix procurement and fund those who actually build it.

Miranda Heath Jan 18

Abby Cabunoc Mayes Jan 16

Looking for examples: do you know any open source projects that have updated their contribution process to handle AI-assisted PRs thoughtfully?

Specifically interested in:
* PR templates that ask for intent/reasoning
* Policies around comprehension checks
* Other methods for adding more friction to creating a PR

Would love to learn from communities already experimenting here

Website	https://mirandaheath.website
Ideology Research Group	https://ideology.group
Report on Burnout in OSS	https://mirandaheath.website/report-on-burnout-in-open-source-software/
FOSDEM Talk on Burnout in OSS	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcxqISedSnI