Growing Open Source Seeds

Facebook SDK for python

• stopped getting updates
• broke completely, bad press, for a while deleted issue tracker (now fixed)

This is not open source, it is public source

• slap an open source license on the code and throw it over the wall
• abandoned due to lack of interest etc

other end of spectrum

• gittip

• open source to the extreme - everything open

• github issue for everything

• major decisions voted for on github

• interviews with journalists are live streamed

• all formal discussions with other companies are publicly documented and shared

  “I’m not building gittip, I’m building the community that is building gittip”

call these “Shared Investment Projects”

• shared ownership
• extreme transparency
• new contributors get involved by following a documented process
• low risk - high bus-factor
• see also: python, django, firefox, jquery ...

Requests - http for human

• one of most installed PyPi packages
• zero of project’s decisions made by community - all made by “me”

Dictatorship Projects

• bdfl owns all
• dictator responsible for all decisions
• community feedback encouraged, but no expectation it will be followed
• allows for quick decisions and iterations
• bus factor, burnout risk, BDFL lose sight -> project ruined

lessons

• be cordial or be on your way
• open source provides opportunity for trifecta of purpose, mastery and autonomy
• learn to do less - trusted people who help out
• learn to say no - people will ask for crazy features
• accept as few lines of code as possible - less code is good