Free and open source software is, or can be, a public good. But, VM Brasseur finds that for some, it may have gotten disconnected from its open culture roots. In this open source story, VM talks about motivations behind FOSS, how they have shifted, and how those who work in free and open source software can help recenter principles of openness.

Open source, the public domain, and various freedoms take center stage in the story behind Standard Ebooks. Learn about Standard Ebooks, a project founded by Alex Cabal to solve one particular problem, and how it brought together contributors with diverse sets of talents to make public domain literature works of art.

John Minnihan walks through the creation of Freepository, the first hosted source control service, how it paved the way for lowering the barrier to participation in open source, and evolution of version control systems.

When you focus more on connections than commit-ments in open source, what do you say yes to? Richard talks about open source as an evolving collective and commons unbounded by strict definitions, working in the open with creativity and joy, and the practices which allow him to sustain himself as a collaborator.

What is open source design? Eriol dives into how designers contribute to open source, resources for designers looking to contribute to open source, and how incorporating design work into open source projects benefits the contributors and community using it.

How do we incorporate ethics into open source and software development at large? Dawn Wages describes some of the ways that she embraces ethical open source engineering, including exploring her guiding principles around how she makes technology decisions. Learn about how she works to bring anti-racist practices to the open source ecosystem.

Emma Irwin explores a nuanced view of open source maintainership in today’s landscape, digging into what characteristics good maintainers cultivate, what role mentoring plays in maintainership, and how history influences who becomes a maintainer.

Nic Steenhout recounts how barriers to access led him to getting involved in the open source community, reflects on challenges that accessibility advocates face in the ecosystem, and gives some advice to projects on how to prove their commitment to accessibility.