Join us in our first new contributor sprint!

Published by Abigail Mesrenyame Dogbe on July 7, 2025

We are launching this month-long sprint to scale our efforts and invite more collaborators and capture even more diverse stories.

Join us in our first new contributor sprint!

Published by Abigail Mesrenyame Dogbe on July 7, 2025

We are launching this month-long sprint to scale our efforts and invite more collaborators and capture even more diverse stories.

Join us in our first new contributor sprint!

Published by Abigail Mesrenyame Dogbe on July 7, 2025

We are launching this month-long sprint to scale our efforts and invite more collaborators and capture even more diverse stories.

Stories

How we show up in open source with Julia Silge

Ever wonder if you’re the only one who feels like open source is a mystery? Julia Silge shares how she went from thinking it was just ‘some person alone in a room’ to realizing it’s a whole world of collaboration and community! Plus, find out why being wrong on the internet isn’t so bad after all.

Stories

How we show up in open source with Julia Silge

Ever wonder if you’re the only one who feels like open source is a mystery? Julia Silge shares how she went from thinking it was just ‘some person alone in a room’ to realizing it’s a whole world of collaboration and community! Plus, find out why being wrong on the internet isn’t so bad after all.

Stories

How we show up in open source with Julia Silge

Ever wonder if you’re the only one who feels like open source is a mystery? Julia Silge shares how she went from thinking it was just ‘some person alone in a room’ to realizing it’s a whole world of collaboration and community! Plus, find out why being wrong on the internet isn’t so bad after all.

Stories

How we show up in open source with Julia Silge

Ever wonder if you’re the only one who feels like open source is a mystery? Julia Silge shares how she went from thinking it was just ‘some person alone in a room’ to realizing it’s a whole world of collaboration and community! Plus, find out why being wrong on the internet isn’t so bad after all.

Stories

How we show up in open source with Julia Silge

Ever wonder if you’re the only one who feels like open source is a mystery? Julia Silge shares how she went from thinking it was just ‘some person alone in a room’ to realizing it’s a whole world of collaboration and community! Plus, find out why being wrong on the internet isn’t so bad after all.

Stories

How we show up in open source with Julia Silge

Ever wonder if you’re the only one who feels like open source is a mystery? Julia Silge shares how she went from thinking it was just ‘some person alone in a room’ to realizing it’s a whole world of collaboration and community! Plus, find out why being wrong on the internet isn’t so bad after all.

Stories

Focus and feedback in the tidyverse

Hadley Wickham takes Tracy Teal through the evolution of the tidyverse, starting with a box of rocks all the way through to a thriving community of data scientists. Join them on the Open Source Story of the tidyverse!

Stories

How we show up in open source with Julia Silge

Ever wonder if you’re the only one who feels like open source is a mystery? Julia Silge shares how she went from thinking it was just ‘some person alone in a room’ to realizing it’s a whole world of collaboration and community! Plus, find out why being wrong on the internet isn’t so bad after all.

Stories

The Open Source Eras Tour with Erin McKean

Dive into a whimsical view of open source with Erin McKean as she examines it through the lens of Taylor Swift’s Eras. From the ‘Inventor Era’ to the ‘Responsibility Era,’ Erin explores how the focus of open source has changed over time. Discover why you need napkins and what ‘fully automated luxury space communism’ might have to do with it all!

Stories

The critical human infrastructure of open source with Duane O’Brien

Open source is people and people are open source. Duane O’Brien talks about what he’s learned about supporting, connecting with, and caring for the critical human infrastructure of open source.

Stories

Richard Littauer talks about birds, hats, and commitments

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.

Stories

The Open Source Eras Tour with Erin McKean

Dive into a whimsical view of open source with Erin McKean as she examines it through the lens of Taylor Swift’s Eras. From the ‘Inventor Era’ to the ‘Responsibility Era,’ Erin explores how the focus of open source has changed over time. Discover why you need napkins and what ‘fully automated luxury space communism’ might have to do with it all!

Stories

Changing communities have changing needs with Andy Piper

In this conversation between Andy Piper and amanda casari, Andy talks about their work in open source communities, specifically highlighting how communities differ, have different needs, and how these needs change and evolve over time. Additionally the discussion covers the “non-glamourous” work that needs to be done, and how difficult it can be to know what sort of help to ask for as a project.

Stories

Robby Russell and the happy little accidental success of Oh My Zsh

From selling stickers to creating one of the most popular projects on GitHub, Robby Russell looks back at the inception and unexpected rise of Oh My Zsh. Usefulness, creativity, and a good onboarding experience are key ingredients in this recipe.

Stories

Community health and belonging with Anita Ihuman

Measuring community health reveals challenges people experience in contributing. Anita Ihuman explains how to build awareness and leverage existing solutions for greater belonging in open source. What you measure, you can see and change!

Stories

Open Hardware and Finding Your People with Thea Flowers

If you find yourself curious about what’s running your software, then you’re in good company! Many Makers before you have cultivated our current open hardware opportunities to make it easier to start. Python Software Foundation Fellow Thea Flowers invites us to think beyond open source software to the vibrant community of open hardware. Bodge your way to greatness! In this episode, explore the right to repair, mid-scale manufacturing, and vinyl for video game soundtracks. Join Open Source Stories in finding your people.

Stories

Elana Hashman on the evolution of open source

Elana Hashman recounts her first contribution to open source, the ecosystem’s potential, how norms have changed over the years, and what keeps her involved and contributing.

Stories

Samson Goddy on the power of centering open source on community needs

Samson talks with amanda about his lifelong journey in open source, why growing a culture of sharing is so important, and how his early experiences influenced where and how he has directed his energy into re-centering the nexus of open source.

Stories

Joe Beda on open source as a positive sum game

Joe Beda shares with julia and amanda about his multigenerational family history with computers, his changing experience with open source since submitting the first commit to Kubernetes, and how the future of open source contains both "danger and opportunity".

Stories

Russell Keith-Magee's journey to open source

Russell Keith-Magee connects with Open Source Stories to talk about his earliest memories of technology, recount how he got involved with the Django ecosystem, and share his thoughts on open source contractualism.

Stories

The Open Source Eras Tour with Erin McKean

Dive into a whimsical view of open source with Erin McKean as she examines it through the lens of Taylor Swift’s Eras. From the ‘Inventor Era’ to the ‘Responsibility Era,’ Erin explores how the focus of open source has changed over time. Discover why you need napkins and what ‘fully automated luxury space communism’ might have to do with it all!

Stories

The Open Source Eras Tour with Erin McKean

Dive into a whimsical view of open source with Erin McKean as she examines it through the lens of Taylor Swift’s Eras. From the ‘Inventor Era’ to the ‘Responsibility Era,’ Erin explores how the focus of open source has changed over time. Discover why you need napkins and what ‘fully automated luxury space communism’ might have to do with it all!

Stories

The Open Source Eras Tour with Erin McKean

Dive into a whimsical view of open source with Erin McKean as she examines it through the lens of Taylor Swift’s Eras. From the ‘Inventor Era’ to the ‘Responsibility Era,’ Erin explores how the focus of open source has changed over time. Discover why you need napkins and what ‘fully automated luxury space communism’ might have to do with it all!

Stories

The Open Source Eras Tour with Erin McKean

Dive into a whimsical view of open source with Erin McKean as she examines it through the lens of Taylor Swift’s Eras. From the ‘Inventor Era’ to the ‘Responsibility Era,’ Erin explores how the focus of open source has changed over time. Discover why you need napkins and what ‘fully automated luxury space communism’ might have to do with it all!

Stories

Community health and belonging with Anita Ihuman

Measuring community health reveals challenges people experience in contributing. Anita Ihuman explains how to build awareness and leverage existing solutions for greater belonging in open source. What you measure, you can see and change!

Maintainer Month 2023 recap

Published by julia ferraioli on June 12, 2023

2023 was the first year that Open Source Stories participated in Maintainer Month. Here’s a recap and breakdown of the true cost of participating.

Stories

The critical human infrastructure of open source with Duane O’Brien

Open source is people and people are open source. Duane O’Brien talks about what he’s learned about supporting, connecting with, and caring for the critical human infrastructure of open source.

Stories

The Open Source Eras Tour with Erin McKean

Dive into a whimsical view of open source with Erin McKean as she examines it through the lens of Taylor Swift’s Eras. From the ‘Inventor Era’ to the ‘Responsibility Era,’ Erin explores how the focus of open source has changed over time. Discover why you need napkins and what ‘fully automated luxury space communism’ might have to do with it all!

Stories

Focus and feedback in the tidyverse

Hadley Wickham takes Tracy Teal through the evolution of the tidyverse, starting with a box of rocks all the way through to a thriving community of data scientists. Join them on the Open Source Story of the tidyverse!

Stories

Rethinking the meaning of governance with Shauna Gordon-McKeon

In a conversation looking at multiple meanings of open source governance and project health, Shauna Gordon-McKeon shares with Open Source Stories views of how investing in project culture can build virtuous cycles of inclusion and contribution. From reducing the number of roles that a maintainer might have to fill to lowering the barriers for user participation, this conversation looks to build from crisis management in 2017 to continuing improvements into the future with the ways open source projects get done.

Stories

Focus and feedback in the tidyverse

Hadley Wickham takes Tracy Teal through the evolution of the tidyverse, starting with a box of rocks all the way through to a thriving community of data scientists. Join them on the Open Source Story of the tidyverse!

Stories

Focus and feedback in the tidyverse

Hadley Wickham takes Tracy Teal through the evolution of the tidyverse, starting with a box of rocks all the way through to a thriving community of data scientists. Join them on the Open Source Story of the tidyverse!

Stories

Focus and feedback in the tidyverse

Hadley Wickham takes Tracy Teal through the evolution of the tidyverse, starting with a box of rocks all the way through to a thriving community of data scientists. Join them on the Open Source Story of the tidyverse!

Stories

Focus and feedback in the tidyverse

Hadley Wickham takes Tracy Teal through the evolution of the tidyverse, starting with a box of rocks all the way through to a thriving community of data scientists. Join them on the Open Source Story of the tidyverse!

Stories

Focus and feedback in the tidyverse

Hadley Wickham takes Tracy Teal through the evolution of the tidyverse, starting with a box of rocks all the way through to a thriving community of data scientists. Join them on the Open Source Story of the tidyverse!

Stories

Focus and feedback in the tidyverse

Hadley Wickham takes Tracy Teal through the evolution of the tidyverse, starting with a box of rocks all the way through to a thriving community of data scientists. Join them on the Open Source Story of the tidyverse!

Stories

The power of invitation and responsibility of leadership

Open source lets you create the experiences you want– whether it be with technology, community, or your lasting impact on the world. In his Open Source Story, Rich Bowen reflects on some of the ways in which open source has opened doors to meet those who have inspired him as well as how he thinks about opening doors for others.

Stories

The power of invitation and responsibility of leadership

Open source lets you create the experiences you want– whether it be with technology, community, or your lasting impact on the world. In his Open Source Story, Rich Bowen reflects on some of the ways in which open source has opened doors to meet those who have inspired him as well as how he thinks about opening doors for others.

Stories

The power of invitation and responsibility of leadership

Open source lets you create the experiences you want– whether it be with technology, community, or your lasting impact on the world. In his Open Source Story, Rich Bowen reflects on some of the ways in which open source has opened doors to meet those who have inspired him as well as how he thinks about opening doors for others.

Stories

The power of invitation and responsibility of leadership

Open source lets you create the experiences you want– whether it be with technology, community, or your lasting impact on the world. In his Open Source Story, Rich Bowen reflects on some of the ways in which open source has opened doors to meet those who have inspired him as well as how he thinks about opening doors for others.

Stories

"Why do we code?" and other musings with Carol Willing

Carol Willing, a veteran programmer with a passion for making technology accessible, shares her journey from mainframe computers to the world of Python and Jupyter Notebooks. She emphasizes the importance of generalist skills, critical thinking, and building up the next generation of engineers.

Stories

Emma Irwin and open source maintainership

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.

Stories

The power of invitation and responsibility of leadership

Open source lets you create the experiences you want– whether it be with technology, community, or your lasting impact on the world. In his Open Source Story, Rich Bowen reflects on some of the ways in which open source has opened doors to meet those who have inspired him as well as how he thinks about opening doors for others.

Stories

The power of invitation and responsibility of leadership

Open source lets you create the experiences you want– whether it be with technology, community, or your lasting impact on the world. In his Open Source Story, Rich Bowen reflects on some of the ways in which open source has opened doors to meet those who have inspired him as well as how he thinks about opening doors for others.

Stories

Changing communities have changing needs with Andy Piper

In this conversation between Andy Piper and amanda casari, Andy talks about their work in open source communities, specifically highlighting how communities differ, have different needs, and how these needs change and evolve over time. Additionally the discussion covers the “non-glamourous” work that needs to be done, and how difficult it can be to know what sort of help to ask for as a project.

Stories

Rethinking the meaning of governance with Shauna Gordon-McKeon

In a conversation looking at multiple meanings of open source governance and project health, Shauna Gordon-McKeon shares with Open Source Stories views of how investing in project culture can build virtuous cycles of inclusion and contribution. From reducing the number of roles that a maintainer might have to fill to lowering the barriers for user participation, this conversation looks to build from crisis management in 2017 to continuing improvements into the future with the ways open source projects get done.

Stories

Changing communities have changing needs with Andy Piper

In this conversation between Andy Piper and amanda casari, Andy talks about their work in open source communities, specifically highlighting how communities differ, have different needs, and how these needs change and evolve over time. Additionally the discussion covers the “non-glamourous” work that needs to be done, and how difficult it can be to know what sort of help to ask for as a project.

Stories

The power and joy in collaboration with Clare Dillon

Why should open source have all the fun? Clare Dillon shares her experience in the wonderful world of innersource, the application of open source practices within organizations. Collaboration is just too exciting not to share!

Stories

Changing communities have changing needs with Andy Piper

In this conversation between Andy Piper and amanda casari, Andy talks about their work in open source communities, specifically highlighting how communities differ, have different needs, and how these needs change and evolve over time. Additionally the discussion covers the “non-glamourous” work that needs to be done, and how difficult it can be to know what sort of help to ask for as a project.

Stories

Community health and belonging with Anita Ihuman

Measuring community health reveals challenges people experience in contributing. Anita Ihuman explains how to build awareness and leverage existing solutions for greater belonging in open source. What you measure, you can see and change!

Stories

Emma Irwin and open source maintainership

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.

Stories

Changing communities have changing needs with Andy Piper

In this conversation between Andy Piper and amanda casari, Andy talks about their work in open source communities, specifically highlighting how communities differ, have different needs, and how these needs change and evolve over time. Additionally the discussion covers the “non-glamourous” work that needs to be done, and how difficult it can be to know what sort of help to ask for as a project.

Stories

Changing communities have changing needs with Andy Piper

In this conversation between Andy Piper and amanda casari, Andy talks about their work in open source communities, specifically highlighting how communities differ, have different needs, and how these needs change and evolve over time. Additionally the discussion covers the “non-glamourous” work that needs to be done, and how difficult it can be to know what sort of help to ask for as a project.

Stories

"Why do we code?" and other musings with Carol Willing

Carol Willing, a veteran programmer with a passion for making technology accessible, shares her journey from mainframe computers to the world of Python and Jupyter Notebooks. She emphasizes the importance of generalist skills, critical thinking, and building up the next generation of engineers.

Stories

"Why do we code?" and other musings with Carol Willing

Carol Willing, a veteran programmer with a passion for making technology accessible, shares her journey from mainframe computers to the world of Python and Jupyter Notebooks. She emphasizes the importance of generalist skills, critical thinking, and building up the next generation of engineers.

Stories

"Why do we code?" and other musings with Carol Willing

Carol Willing, a veteran programmer with a passion for making technology accessible, shares her journey from mainframe computers to the world of Python and Jupyter Notebooks. She emphasizes the importance of generalist skills, critical thinking, and building up the next generation of engineers.

Stories

"Why do we code?" and other musings with Carol Willing

Carol Willing, a veteran programmer with a passion for making technology accessible, shares her journey from mainframe computers to the world of Python and Jupyter Notebooks. She emphasizes the importance of generalist skills, critical thinking, and building up the next generation of engineers.

Stories

"Why do we code?" and other musings with Carol Willing

Carol Willing, a veteran programmer with a passion for making technology accessible, shares her journey from mainframe computers to the world of Python and Jupyter Notebooks. She emphasizes the importance of generalist skills, critical thinking, and building up the next generation of engineers.

Stories

"Why do we code?" and other musings with Carol Willing

Carol Willing, a veteran programmer with a passion for making technology accessible, shares her journey from mainframe computers to the world of Python and Jupyter Notebooks. She emphasizes the importance of generalist skills, critical thinking, and building up the next generation of engineers.

Stories

The journey to becoming a maintainer with Jessica Tegner

How does one pick up the maintainership baton? Turns out that you can ask for it! Jessica Tegner tells the story of how she went from contributing to pypandoc to being the maintainer of it, and of the pressures that come from maintaining a widely used project.

Stories

Open Hardware and Finding Your People with Thea Flowers

If you find yourself curious about what’s running your software, then you’re in good company! Many Makers before you have cultivated our current open hardware opportunities to make it easier to start. Python Software Foundation Fellow Thea Flowers invites us to think beyond open source software to the vibrant community of open hardware. Bodge your way to greatness! In this episode, explore the right to repair, mid-scale manufacturing, and vinyl for video game soundtracks. Join Open Source Stories in finding your people.

Stories

Dawn Wages on being an ethical open source engineer

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.

Stories

Elana Hashman on the evolution of open source

Elana Hashman recounts her first contribution to open source, the ecosystem’s potential, how norms have changed over the years, and what keeps her involved and contributing.

Stories

Samson Goddy on the power of centering open source on community needs

Samson talks with amanda about his lifelong journey in open source, why growing a culture of sharing is so important, and how his early experiences influenced where and how he has directed his energy into re-centering the nexus of open source.

Stories

Russell Keith-Magee's journey to open source

Russell Keith-Magee connects with Open Source Stories to talk about his earliest memories of technology, recount how he got involved with the Django ecosystem, and share his thoughts on open source contractualism.

Stories

Rethinking the meaning of governance with Shauna Gordon-McKeon

In a conversation looking at multiple meanings of open source governance and project health, Shauna Gordon-McKeon shares with Open Source Stories views of how investing in project culture can build virtuous cycles of inclusion and contribution. From reducing the number of roles that a maintainer might have to fill to lowering the barriers for user participation, this conversation looks to build from crisis management in 2017 to continuing improvements into the future with the ways open source projects get done.

Stories

Rethinking the meaning of governance with Shauna Gordon-McKeon

In a conversation looking at multiple meanings of open source governance and project health, Shauna Gordon-McKeon shares with Open Source Stories views of how investing in project culture can build virtuous cycles of inclusion and contribution. From reducing the number of roles that a maintainer might have to fill to lowering the barriers for user participation, this conversation looks to build from crisis management in 2017 to continuing improvements into the future with the ways open source projects get done.

Stories

Joe Beda on open source as a positive sum game

Joe Beda shares with julia and amanda about his multigenerational family history with computers, his changing experience with open source since submitting the first commit to Kubernetes, and how the future of open source contains both "danger and opportunity".

Stories

Rethinking the meaning of governance with Shauna Gordon-McKeon

In a conversation looking at multiple meanings of open source governance and project health, Shauna Gordon-McKeon shares with Open Source Stories views of how investing in project culture can build virtuous cycles of inclusion and contribution. From reducing the number of roles that a maintainer might have to fill to lowering the barriers for user participation, this conversation looks to build from crisis management in 2017 to continuing improvements into the future with the ways open source projects get done.

Stories

The journey to becoming a maintainer with Jessica Tegner

How does one pick up the maintainership baton? Turns out that you can ask for it! Jessica Tegner tells the story of how she went from contributing to pypandoc to being the maintainer of it, and of the pressures that come from maintaining a widely used project.

Stories

Open Hardware and Finding Your People with Thea Flowers

If you find yourself curious about what’s running your software, then you’re in good company! Many Makers before you have cultivated our current open hardware opportunities to make it easier to start. Python Software Foundation Fellow Thea Flowers invites us to think beyond open source software to the vibrant community of open hardware. Bodge your way to greatness! In this episode, explore the right to repair, mid-scale manufacturing, and vinyl for video game soundtracks. Join Open Source Stories in finding your people.

Stories

Emma Irwin and open source maintainership

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.

Stories

Rethinking the meaning of governance with Shauna Gordon-McKeon

In a conversation looking at multiple meanings of open source governance and project health, Shauna Gordon-McKeon shares with Open Source Stories views of how investing in project culture can build virtuous cycles of inclusion and contribution. From reducing the number of roles that a maintainer might have to fill to lowering the barriers for user participation, this conversation looks to build from crisis management in 2017 to continuing improvements into the future with the ways open source projects get done.

Stories

Rethinking the meaning of governance with Shauna Gordon-McKeon

In a conversation looking at multiple meanings of open source governance and project health, Shauna Gordon-McKeon shares with Open Source Stories views of how investing in project culture can build virtuous cycles of inclusion and contribution. From reducing the number of roles that a maintainer might have to fill to lowering the barriers for user participation, this conversation looks to build from crisis management in 2017 to continuing improvements into the future with the ways open source projects get done.

Stories

The power and joy in collaboration with Clare Dillon

Why should open source have all the fun? Clare Dillon shares her experience in the wonderful world of innersource, the application of open source practices within organizations. Collaboration is just too exciting not to share!

Stories

The power and joy in collaboration with Clare Dillon

Why should open source have all the fun? Clare Dillon shares her experience in the wonderful world of innersource, the application of open source practices within organizations. Collaboration is just too exciting not to share!

Stories

The power and joy in collaboration with Clare Dillon

Why should open source have all the fun? Clare Dillon shares her experience in the wonderful world of innersource, the application of open source practices within organizations. Collaboration is just too exciting not to share!

Stories

VM Brasseur on free and open source ecosystems and culture

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.

Stories

The power and joy in collaboration with Clare Dillon

Why should open source have all the fun? Clare Dillon shares her experience in the wonderful world of innersource, the application of open source practices within organizations. Collaboration is just too exciting not to share!

Stories

Joe Beda on open source as a positive sum game

Joe Beda shares with julia and amanda about his multigenerational family history with computers, his changing experience with open source since submitting the first commit to Kubernetes, and how the future of open source contains both "danger and opportunity".

Stories

Josh Simmons and open source diplomacy

Josh Simmons spends some time with Open Source Stories discussing the finer points of navigating open source dynamics, reflecting on the adoption of codes of conduct, and progress made towards increasing representation. Josh also coins the best tagline for open source.

Stories

The power and joy in collaboration with Clare Dillon

Why should open source have all the fun? Clare Dillon shares her experience in the wonderful world of innersource, the application of open source practices within organizations. Collaboration is just too exciting not to share!

Stories

Robby Russell and the happy little accidental success of Oh My Zsh

From selling stickers to creating one of the most popular projects on GitHub, Robby Russell looks back at the inception and unexpected rise of Oh My Zsh. Usefulness, creativity, and a good onboarding experience are key ingredients in this recipe.

Stories

Robby Russell and the happy little accidental success of Oh My Zsh

From selling stickers to creating one of the most popular projects on GitHub, Robby Russell looks back at the inception and unexpected rise of Oh My Zsh. Usefulness, creativity, and a good onboarding experience are key ingredients in this recipe.

Stories

Richard Littauer talks about birds, hats, and commitments

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.

Stories

Eriol Fox on open source design

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.

Stories

Robby Russell and the happy little accidental success of Oh My Zsh

From selling stickers to creating one of the most popular projects on GitHub, Robby Russell looks back at the inception and unexpected rise of Oh My Zsh. Usefulness, creativity, and a good onboarding experience are key ingredients in this recipe.

Stories

Robby Russell and the happy little accidental success of Oh My Zsh

From selling stickers to creating one of the most popular projects on GitHub, Robby Russell looks back at the inception and unexpected rise of Oh My Zsh. Usefulness, creativity, and a good onboarding experience are key ingredients in this recipe.

Stories

Robby Russell and the happy little accidental success of Oh My Zsh

From selling stickers to creating one of the most popular projects on GitHub, Robby Russell looks back at the inception and unexpected rise of Oh My Zsh. Usefulness, creativity, and a good onboarding experience are key ingredients in this recipe.

Stories

Robby Russell and the happy little accidental success of Oh My Zsh

From selling stickers to creating one of the most popular projects on GitHub, Robby Russell looks back at the inception and unexpected rise of Oh My Zsh. Usefulness, creativity, and a good onboarding experience are key ingredients in this recipe.

Stories

Robby Russell and the happy little accidental success of Oh My Zsh

From selling stickers to creating one of the most popular projects on GitHub, Robby Russell looks back at the inception and unexpected rise of Oh My Zsh. Usefulness, creativity, and a good onboarding experience are key ingredients in this recipe.

Stories

Community health and belonging with Anita Ihuman

Measuring community health reveals challenges people experience in contributing. Anita Ihuman explains how to build awareness and leverage existing solutions for greater belonging in open source. What you measure, you can see and change!

Stories

Community health and belonging with Anita Ihuman

Measuring community health reveals challenges people experience in contributing. Anita Ihuman explains how to build awareness and leverage existing solutions for greater belonging in open source. What you measure, you can see and change!

Stories

Nicolas Steenhout explores the intersection of accessibility and open source

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.

Stories

Samson Goddy on the power of centering open source on community needs

Samson talks with amanda about his lifelong journey in open source, why growing a culture of sharing is so important, and how his early experiences influenced where and how he has directed his energy into re-centering the nexus of open source.

Stories

Josh Simmons and open source diplomacy

Josh Simmons spends some time with Open Source Stories discussing the finer points of navigating open source dynamics, reflecting on the adoption of codes of conduct, and progress made towards increasing representation. Josh also coins the best tagline for open source.

Stories

Community health and belonging with Anita Ihuman

Measuring community health reveals challenges people experience in contributing. Anita Ihuman explains how to build awareness and leverage existing solutions for greater belonging in open source. What you measure, you can see and change!

Stories

Eriol Fox on open source design

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.

Stories

Dawn Wages on being an ethical open source engineer

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.

Stories

Emma Irwin and open source maintainership

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.

Stories

Nicolas Steenhout explores the intersection of accessibility and open source

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.

Stories

Community health and belonging with Anita Ihuman

Measuring community health reveals challenges people experience in contributing. Anita Ihuman explains how to build awareness and leverage existing solutions for greater belonging in open source. What you measure, you can see and change!

Stories

Community health and belonging with Anita Ihuman

Measuring community health reveals challenges people experience in contributing. Anita Ihuman explains how to build awareness and leverage existing solutions for greater belonging in open source. What you measure, you can see and change!

Stories

Samson Goddy on the power of centering open source on community needs

Samson talks with amanda about his lifelong journey in open source, why growing a culture of sharing is so important, and how his early experiences influenced where and how he has directed his energy into re-centering the nexus of open source.

Stories

Community health and belonging with Anita Ihuman

Measuring community health reveals challenges people experience in contributing. Anita Ihuman explains how to build awareness and leverage existing solutions for greater belonging in open source. What you measure, you can see and change!

Maintainer Month 2023 recap

Published by julia ferraioli on June 12, 2023

2023 was the first year that Open Source Stories participated in Maintainer Month. Here’s a recap and breakdown of the true cost of participating.

Maintainer Month 2023 recap

Published by julia ferraioli on June 12, 2023

2023 was the first year that Open Source Stories participated in Maintainer Month. Here’s a recap and breakdown of the true cost of participating.

Stories

The peculiarities of security maintainership with Filippo Valsorda

What changes when the projects you maintain are cornerstones of security? Filippo Valsorda elaborates on his experience as a cryptographer, his work in Go, and how his approach to maintainership might be a bit different from the average maintainer.

Stories

The journey to becoming a maintainer with Jessica Tegner

How does one pick up the maintainership baton? Turns out that you can ask for it! Jessica Tegner tells the story of how she went from contributing to pypandoc to being the maintainer of it, and of the pressures that come from maintaining a widely used project.

Stories

The critical human infrastructure of open source with Duane O’Brien

Open source is people and people are open source. Duane O’Brien talks about what he’s learned about supporting, connecting with, and caring for the critical human infrastructure of open source.

Maintainer Month 2023 recap

Published by julia ferraioli on June 12, 2023

2023 was the first year that Open Source Stories participated in Maintainer Month. Here’s a recap and breakdown of the true cost of participating.

Stories

The peculiarities of security maintainership with Filippo Valsorda

What changes when the projects you maintain are cornerstones of security? Filippo Valsorda elaborates on his experience as a cryptographer, his work in Go, and how his approach to maintainership might be a bit different from the average maintainer.

Stories

The peculiarities of security maintainership with Filippo Valsorda

What changes when the projects you maintain are cornerstones of security? Filippo Valsorda elaborates on his experience as a cryptographer, his work in Go, and how his approach to maintainership might be a bit different from the average maintainer.

Stories

The peculiarities of security maintainership with Filippo Valsorda

What changes when the projects you maintain are cornerstones of security? Filippo Valsorda elaborates on his experience as a cryptographer, his work in Go, and how his approach to maintainership might be a bit different from the average maintainer.

Stories

The peculiarities of security maintainership with Filippo Valsorda

What changes when the projects you maintain are cornerstones of security? Filippo Valsorda elaborates on his experience as a cryptographer, his work in Go, and how his approach to maintainership might be a bit different from the average maintainer.

Stories

The peculiarities of security maintainership with Filippo Valsorda

What changes when the projects you maintain are cornerstones of security? Filippo Valsorda elaborates on his experience as a cryptographer, his work in Go, and how his approach to maintainership might be a bit different from the average maintainer.

Stories

The journey to becoming a maintainer with Jessica Tegner

How does one pick up the maintainership baton? Turns out that you can ask for it! Jessica Tegner tells the story of how she went from contributing to pypandoc to being the maintainer of it, and of the pressures that come from maintaining a widely used project.

Stories

Nicolas Steenhout explores the intersection of accessibility and open source

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.

Stories

The journey to becoming a maintainer with Jessica Tegner

How does one pick up the maintainership baton? Turns out that you can ask for it! Jessica Tegner tells the story of how she went from contributing to pypandoc to being the maintainer of it, and of the pressures that come from maintaining a widely used project.

Stories

Nicolas Steenhout explores the intersection of accessibility and open source

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.

Stories

The journey to becoming a maintainer with Jessica Tegner

How does one pick up the maintainership baton? Turns out that you can ask for it! Jessica Tegner tells the story of how she went from contributing to pypandoc to being the maintainer of it, and of the pressures that come from maintaining a widely used project.

Stories

The journey to becoming a maintainer with Jessica Tegner

How does one pick up the maintainership baton? Turns out that you can ask for it! Jessica Tegner tells the story of how she went from contributing to pypandoc to being the maintainer of it, and of the pressures that come from maintaining a widely used project.

Stories

The critical human infrastructure of open source with Duane O’Brien

Open source is people and people are open source. Duane O’Brien talks about what he’s learned about supporting, connecting with, and caring for the critical human infrastructure of open source.

Stories

The critical human infrastructure of open source with Duane O’Brien

Open source is people and people are open source. Duane O’Brien talks about what he’s learned about supporting, connecting with, and caring for the critical human infrastructure of open source.

Stories

The critical human infrastructure of open source with Duane O’Brien

Open source is people and people are open source. Duane O’Brien talks about what he’s learned about supporting, connecting with, and caring for the critical human infrastructure of open source.

Stories

Open Hardware and Finding Your People with Thea Flowers

If you find yourself curious about what’s running your software, then you’re in good company! Many Makers before you have cultivated our current open hardware opportunities to make it easier to start. Python Software Foundation Fellow Thea Flowers invites us to think beyond open source software to the vibrant community of open hardware. Bodge your way to greatness! In this episode, explore the right to repair, mid-scale manufacturing, and vinyl for video game soundtracks. Join Open Source Stories in finding your people.

Stories

Eriol Fox on open source design

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.

Stories

Open Hardware and Finding Your People with Thea Flowers

If you find yourself curious about what’s running your software, then you’re in good company! Many Makers before you have cultivated our current open hardware opportunities to make it easier to start. Python Software Foundation Fellow Thea Flowers invites us to think beyond open source software to the vibrant community of open hardware. Bodge your way to greatness! In this episode, explore the right to repair, mid-scale manufacturing, and vinyl for video game soundtracks. Join Open Source Stories in finding your people.

Stories

Open Hardware and Finding Your People with Thea Flowers

If you find yourself curious about what’s running your software, then you’re in good company! Many Makers before you have cultivated our current open hardware opportunities to make it easier to start. Python Software Foundation Fellow Thea Flowers invites us to think beyond open source software to the vibrant community of open hardware. Bodge your way to greatness! In this episode, explore the right to repair, mid-scale manufacturing, and vinyl for video game soundtracks. Join Open Source Stories in finding your people.

Stories

Open Hardware and Finding Your People with Thea Flowers

If you find yourself curious about what’s running your software, then you’re in good company! Many Makers before you have cultivated our current open hardware opportunities to make it easier to start. Python Software Foundation Fellow Thea Flowers invites us to think beyond open source software to the vibrant community of open hardware. Bodge your way to greatness! In this episode, explore the right to repair, mid-scale manufacturing, and vinyl for video game soundtracks. Join Open Source Stories in finding your people.

Stories

VM Brasseur on free and open source ecosystems and culture

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.

Stories

VM Brasseur on free and open source ecosystems and culture

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.

Stories

VM Brasseur on free and open source ecosystems and culture

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.

Stories

VM Brasseur on free and open source ecosystems and culture

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.

Stories

VM Brasseur on free and open source ecosystems and culture

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.

Stories

Alex Cabal and the Standard Ebooks "saga"

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.

Stories

Alex Cabal and the Standard Ebooks "saga"

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.

Stories

Alex Cabal and the Standard Ebooks "saga"

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.

Stories

Alex Cabal and the Standard Ebooks "saga"

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.

Stories

Alex Cabal and the Standard Ebooks "saga"

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.

Stories

Alex Cabal and the Standard Ebooks "saga"

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.

Stories

Alex Cabal and the Standard Ebooks "saga"

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.

Stories

Alex Cabal and the Standard Ebooks "saga"

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.

Stories

John Minnihan and the genesis of hosted source control

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.

Stories

John Minnihan and the genesis of hosted source control

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.

Stories

John Minnihan and the genesis of hosted source control

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.

Stories

John Minnihan and the genesis of hosted source control

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.

Stories

John Minnihan and the genesis of hosted source control

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.

Stories

John Minnihan and the genesis of hosted source control

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.

Stories

John Minnihan and the genesis of hosted source control

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.

Stories

John Minnihan and the genesis of hosted source control

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.

Stories

John Minnihan and the genesis of hosted source control

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.

Stories

Richard Littauer talks about birds, hats, and commitments

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.

Stories

Richard Littauer talks about birds, hats, and commitments

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.

Stories

Richard Littauer talks about birds, hats, and commitments

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.

Stories

Richard Littauer talks about birds, hats, and commitments

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.

Stories

Richard Littauer talks about birds, hats, and commitments

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.

Stories

Eriol Fox on open source design

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.

Stories

Eriol Fox on open source design

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.

Stories

Eriol Fox on open source design

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.

Stories

Eriol Fox on open source design

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.

Stories

Dawn Wages on being an ethical open source engineer

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.

Stories

Dawn Wages on being an ethical open source engineer

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.

Stories

Dawn Wages on being an ethical open source engineer

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.

Stories

Dawn Wages on being an ethical open source engineer

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.

Stories

Emma Irwin and open source maintainership

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.

Stories

Emma Irwin and open source maintainership

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.

Stories

Nicolas Steenhout explores the intersection of accessibility and open source

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.

Stories

Nicolas Steenhout explores the intersection of accessibility and open source

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.

Stories

Elana Hashman on the evolution of open source

Elana Hashman recounts her first contribution to open source, the ecosystem’s potential, how norms have changed over the years, and what keeps her involved and contributing.

Stories

Joe Beda on open source as a positive sum game

Joe Beda shares with julia and amanda about his multigenerational family history with computers, his changing experience with open source since submitting the first commit to Kubernetes, and how the future of open source contains both "danger and opportunity".

Stories

Elana Hashman on the evolution of open source

Elana Hashman recounts her first contribution to open source, the ecosystem’s potential, how norms have changed over the years, and what keeps her involved and contributing.

Stories

Samson Goddy on the power of centering open source on community needs

Samson talks with amanda about his lifelong journey in open source, why growing a culture of sharing is so important, and how his early experiences influenced where and how he has directed his energy into re-centering the nexus of open source.

Stories

Joe Beda on open source as a positive sum game

Joe Beda shares with julia and amanda about his multigenerational family history with computers, his changing experience with open source since submitting the first commit to Kubernetes, and how the future of open source contains both "danger and opportunity".

Stories

Josh Simmons and open source diplomacy

Josh Simmons spends some time with Open Source Stories discussing the finer points of navigating open source dynamics, reflecting on the adoption of codes of conduct, and progress made towards increasing representation. Josh also coins the best tagline for open source.

Stories

Aaron Patterson on open source game changers

Aaron Patterson talks with julia and amanda about installing Linux for the first time, the story behind first patch, initial hesitancy around forking, and shares some advice for fellow programmers. Features plenty of bad puns from everyone.

Stories

Aaron Patterson on open source game changers

Aaron Patterson talks with julia and amanda about installing Linux for the first time, the story behind first patch, initial hesitancy around forking, and shares some advice for fellow programmers. Features plenty of bad puns from everyone.

Stories

Aaron Patterson on open source game changers

Aaron Patterson talks with julia and amanda about installing Linux for the first time, the story behind first patch, initial hesitancy around forking, and shares some advice for fellow programmers. Features plenty of bad puns from everyone.

Stories

Russell Keith-Magee's journey to open source

Russell Keith-Magee connects with Open Source Stories to talk about his earliest memories of technology, recount how he got involved with the Django ecosystem, and share his thoughts on open source contractualism.

Stories

Russell Keith-Magee's journey to open source

Russell Keith-Magee connects with Open Source Stories to talk about his earliest memories of technology, recount how he got involved with the Django ecosystem, and share his thoughts on open source contractualism.