Downstream Mindset vs Upstream Communities

As open source became mainstream, companies started to allow or even encourage their employees to get involved upstream and even started to open source their projects. Having more people being paid to work on open source software sounds great at first. However, when people don’t get the education and support to integrate upstream work and mindset into their daily work the open source projects, and eventually the boarder ecosystem, suffer.

This phenomenon affects everyone from single-vendor projects to diverse communities, and from small projects to large communities, and eventually contributes to maintainer shortage and burnout. Addressing this is the responsibility of both individuals and corporations. So, where should they start?

This presentation will outline the different ways how corporate mindset and priorities harm open source projects today, including tasks and responsibilities in open source projects that fall short and obstacles that maintainers face on a daily basis. Attendees will learn what individuals can do to improve their own and their communities’ experience. Last, but not least, the talk will provide tools to educate employers about why and how maintaining key open source dependencies is strategic for a successful business strategy.