Why the Open Source Community Feels Like It's Breaking (And How We Fix It)

Hey everyone, Josh here from Indie Creator Space, and uh, retrospection or retrospection whatever I don't know the words I never usually know the words that I want to convey - that's one thing that is nice little quirk about me anyways um...

But seriously, I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I wanted to just put myself out there, get myself outside of my comfort bubble and talk about something that's been bugging me about the open source world.

The Thing Nobody Wants to Talk About

So here's the deal - and I'm just gonna be real with you because that's what we do here - the open source community feels like it's at war with itself. And I'm not talking about the normal healthy debates we've always had about licensing or whatever. I'm talking about this underlying tension where it feels like we're spending more energy fighting each other than actually building cool stuff together.

You know what I mean? It's like we all started around the same campfire - because that's what open source was, right? This shared space where everyone could contribute and build something bigger than themselves. But now it feels like everyone's setting up their own little campfires and getting defensive about who's allowed to sit around theirs.

What's Actually Happening Here

And look, I get it. I really do. You've got maintainers who are completely burned out trying to keep critical infrastructure running on weekends and evenings - because let's be honest, most of us aren't doing this full-time. We're doing it whenever we can get any kind of spare time, either at night or early mornings or sometime during the day or on weekends.

Then you've got companies trying to figure out how to give back without looking like they're just taking advantage of free labor. And you've got new developers who are scared to even submit a pull request because they might get their heads bitten off.

It's like everyone's walking on eggshells, and that's not what open source is supposed to be about.

The Tools Are There, We're Just Not Using Them Right

One of the things I've been experimenting with - and I'll probably do a whole video about this later - is how we organize these communities. I've been using everything from Notion to ClickUp to just Apple Notes trying to figure out better ways to coordinate projects without burning myself out.

But here's the thing - and this is gonna sound obvious but bear with me - the problem isn't the tools. It's that we've forgotten how to talk to each other like human beings.

Back to Basics: What Actually Works

So what do we do about it? Well, first thing is we need to stop treating every interaction like it's a zero-sum game. That maintainer who seems unreasonably protective of their project? Maybe they're just tired of explaining the same thing fifteen times a week. That company pushing for changes? Maybe they're actually trying to help but don't know the right way to do it.

I'm passionate about independent content creation because that's what I am, and one thing I've learned from building this community is that you have to assume good faith. Like, really assume it. Even when someone's being difficult or asking what seems like obvious questions.

The Sustainability Problem Nobody Talks About

And here's something that really gets me - we all benefit when open source projects thrive long-term. Whether you're a weekend hobbyist or you're working for some Fortune 500 company, we all lose when maintainers burn out and projects get abandoned.

But sustainability isn't just about throwing money at the problem. Though honestly, more funding wouldn't hurt. It's about creating environments where people actually want to contribute, where knowledge gets passed down to new people, and where projects can evolve without destroying their creators.

Building Better Campfires

You know what we need more of? Bridge-builders. People who can translate between different perspectives and help others see past their immediate frustrations to the bigger picture.

Like, I've been branching out my content to cover not just open source platforms like OwnCast and PeerTube, but also mainstream stuff like Twitch and YouTube. And you know why? Because that's where people actually are. That's where the conversations are happening.

We need to meet people where they are, not where we think they should be.

The Uncomfortable Truth

Here's the thing that might make some people uncomfortable - the beauty of open source isn't that we all think alike. It's that we can disagree, debate, iterate, and still ship amazing things together. Some of our best innovations have come from the tension between different approaches.

But - and this is important - productive disagreement requires good faith engagement and mutual respect. When we lose sight of that, our debates become destructive instead of generative.

What We Can Actually Do

So here's my challenge to everyone watching this, and I'm including myself in this because I definitely fall into these traps sometimes:

Listen first, judge second. Before you dismiss someone's perspective, try to understand what pressures they're operating under.

Focus on shared problems. We don't need to agree on everything to work together on the things that matter - like security, accessibility, documentation, and yes, maintainer burnout.

Remember the long game. We're not building projects for next quarter. We're building the foundation for the next generation of developers.

Moving Forward

Look, I don't have all the answers. Heck, I don't even know half the words I want to use half the time. But I do know that the open source community has overcome challenges before, and we can navigate this current period of tension too.

It's going to require conscious effort from all of us though. We need to choose collaboration over conflict, understanding over judgment, and long-term thinking over short-term wins.

And honestly? We need to get better at welcoming newcomers and helping them understand not just the technical stuff, but the cultural and social dynamics that make these communities work.

Your Turn

So here's what I want to know - and seriously, call me out in the comments if you think I'm completely off base here - what's one thing you think we could do better as a community? How do we get back to that collaborative spirit that made open source so powerful in the first place?

Because the future of open source depends not just on the code we write, but on the communities we build. And I want to make sure we're building ones that will inspire and welcome the next generation of contributors.

If you made it this far, thanks for sticking with me through all my rambling. Become a free member if this resonated with you, and let me know your thoughts in the comments. I read every single one, even the ones that tell me I'm completely wrong.

Until next time, later taters.