Talking Open Source, WordPress, and Contribution Beyond Code on the Crossword Podcast
I recently joined the Crossword podcast for a conversation about open source, WordPress, and what meaningful contribution looks like beyond writing code. We talked about non-technical roles, sponsored contribution, and how large community-driven projects actually function, along with a few additional thoughts I didn’t get a chance to fully unpack during the episode.#OpenSourceSustainability
Agree and Amplify: Funding Open Source as Digital Infrastructure
Open source software powers critical digital infrastructure, but funding rarely reaches the people who maintain it. In response to Dries Buytaert’s recent post on funding open source for digital sovereignty, I argue that this is not just a government procurement issue. It is a systemic one. From WordPress to Tailwind, widespread adoption is too often mistaken for sustainability. If organizations depend on open source to operate and scale, contributing back (including funding) needs to be treated as a baseline responsibility, not optional goodwill.https://jeffpaul.com/2026/01/agree-and-amplify-funding-open-source-as-digital-infrastructure/
“I really like the Small Web. Thanks for NOT supporting it.”
https://ar.al/2022/10/20/nlnet-grant-application-for-domain-rejected/
(We tried one more time after that, got rejected again, and then stopped wasting time with @nlnet and @NGIZero. The Small Web will launch this year with ZERO EU funding in its six years of development from NGI/NLNet. If you want to support us before it does, please see https://small-tech.org/fund-us. After we launch, we aim for it to be self sustaining. So NGI/NLNet have been and are irrelevant as far as the Small Web is concerned.)
https://eupolicy.social/@jmaris/115940504761958251
#SmallWeb #SmallTech #EU #funding #FOSS #OpenSource #EUpol #OpenSourceSustainability #NextGenerationInternet #NGI #NLNet #SmallTechnologyFoundation
RE: https://social.opensource.org/@policy/115940134797418877
Even if you just send feedback saying "I really like (funded project) thanks for supporting it", that is the kind of thing that really makes a difference!
The commission struggles to measure the value of Open Source funding, so we have to speak up so they know it makes sense!
The European Commission's proposal to provide funding for the Commercialisation of Open Source in Europe is a great thing both for Europe's digital autonomy and for Open Source sustainability.
It is the result of a multi-year educational and advocacy effort by Open Source organisations in Brussels that I am very glad to have been part of ❤️.
https://www.euractiv.com/news/commission-wants-to-commercialise-open-source-for-sovereignty/
The European Commission's proposal to provide funding for the Commercialisation of Open Source in Europe is a great thing both for Europe's digital autonomy and for Open Source sustainability.
It is the result of a multi-year educational and advocacy effort by Open Source organisations in Brussels, including the OSI!
https://www.euractiv.com/news/commission-wants-to-commercialise-open-source-for-sovereignty/
#EUpol #OpenSource #OpenSourceSustainability
[JM]
What do you think about the value of soil/earth/dirt? Here's an open source soil amendment strategy "for improving 3 acres of low-quality soil, enough space to grow sufficient food to feed 100 people within 1 year."
https://www.onecommunityglobal.org/soil-amendment/
#SoilHealth #RegenerativeAgriculture #FoodSecurity #SustainableFarming #SoilAmendment #EarthCare #OpenSourceSustainability #GrowYourOwnFood #HealthySoilHealthyLife #EcoSolutions
What did we do to preserve homes before the chemical concoctions we use today existed? Here is an open source plaster and eco-plaster page that explores the options.
https://www.onecommunityglobal.org/plaster/
#EcoPlaster #NaturalBuilding #SustainableHomes #GreenConstruction #HealthyMaterials #NonToxicLiving #EcoArchitecture #RegenerativeDesign #SustainableBuilding #EarthFriendlyDesign #LowWasteLiving #OpenSourceSustainability
Ever thought of building your own eco-village? Our all-volunteer, nonprofit, and non-governmental organization has tens of thousands of hours, and hundred of open source pages, contributed to creating free-shared designs, strategies, and plans to help.
https://www.onecommunityglobal.org/overview/
#EcoVillage #OpenSourceSustainability #SustainableLiving #RegenerativeDesign #CommunityBuilding #CollaborativeLiving #GreenArchitecture #OffGridLiving #OneCommunityGlobal #FutureOfLiving
“Could community be the key to transforming the world? Here's an article that says it could and proposes the collaborative and cooperative structure that could make it possible for us all to be a part of it.”
🔗 https://www.onecommunityglobal.org/true-community/
Hashtags:
#TrueCommunity #CollaborativeLiving #SustainableCommunities #GlobalCooperation #SocialChange #CollectiveImpact #CommunityBuilding #SharedFuture #OpenSourceSustainability #OneCommunityGlobal
Together with PyPI, Maven Central, crates.io and other major package registries we signed a statement on sustainable open source infrastructure.
3B+ installs/month and evolving #composerphp and packagist.org requires sharing the costs.
Our Blog: https://blog.packagist.com/a-call-for-sustainable-open-source-infrastructure/
Open Letter: https://openssf.org/blog/2025/09/23/open-infrastructure-is-not-free-a-joint-statement-on-sustainable-stewardship/
I've been thinking a lot about #OpenSourceSustainability lately.
The topic is coming up across the full spectrum of projects, friends, colleagues, and clients (in 2nd place behind #DigitalSovereignty stuff).
Open Source Pledge was officially launched today! This is a new initiative by Sentry addressing Open Source Software sustainability problem.
I've been evaluating Pulumi as a provisioning tool and I find the choice around monetization interesting.
By default if you use Pulumi, you need an account on their server, and they charge for organizations to use it.
This would be a bit like if git defaulted to a Github repository by default.
You can override this, but you have to do so deliberately.
I'm conflicted by this choice. On one hand, I find this to be a problematic default behavior since it pushes users towards a proprietary commercial service.
On the other hand, it's a default that can be overridden and may mean that the software and company have found a way to be profitable in the long term.
I'd love to know what others think about this.
#FreeSoftware #OpenSource #FLOSS #Pulumi #OpenSourceSustainability
🚀 NEW on We ❤️ Open Source 🚀
Help change the status quo! Join the Open Source Pledge and support maintainers with $2,000 per year per developer. Learn more about how you can participate in Chad Whitacre's latest article.
#WeLoveOpenSource #OpenSourceSustainability #PayTheMaintainers
In today's #ITOps Query #podcast episode, @adamhjk discusses his "speed run" through the various permutations of #opensourcebusiness models during his career, and how the industry can use the lessons learned by a generation of #openproduct entrepreneurs to improve open source-based business sustainability. #opensourcesustainability #OSS https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-c77yn-15e3cac
Episode 2 of my new #podcast series is out, featuring William Morgan of #Buoyant, the vendor behind the #Linkerd #servicemesh. In February, Buoyant announced it would no longer be making a certain class of the project's code, called stable release artifacts, available for free to production users with more than 50 employees. In this interview, William discusses community reaction to that change and his view on #opensourcesustainability. #opensource. #OSS #CNCF
Here we go. S1E1!
Chad Whitacre is head of open source at Sentry, an application and performance monitoring software maker that moved to a business source license for its products in 2019, and then to a functional source license in November 2023. In this episode, he discusses the #tragedyofthecommons vs #enclosure, open source vs open products, #BSL vs #FSL and the story of "The #Codecov kerfuffle." #OSS #softwarecommons #opensource #opensourcesustainability #podcast
"My fundamental position is that paying people to work on open source is good, full stop, no exceptions"
That's a good write-up. I wholeheartedly agree. These days I simply do not work on OSS unless it's something that I benefit from somehow. ie I wouldn't spend time fixing bugs that don't affect me directly. It's not that I don't want to help, it's just that I don't have time. It's as simple as that.
#OpenSource #OpenSourceSustainability #PayMaintainers
https://jacobian.org/2024/feb/16/paying-maintainers-is-good/
So it seems I lost 3 of my 5 #Github sponsors last month due to them ending the #PayPal payment possibility 😔
I really can't complain too much about getting feature/bugfix sponsorship for specific plugins and the #NeosCMS core in the last few years, but getting financial support for general maintenance and just investing time in the community is really really hard. #OpenSourceSustainability
Client Info
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