Wednesday
Room 3
16:20 - 17:20
(UTC±00)
Talk (60 min)
Open Source is Broken, and it’s Our Fault
Open source is broken and we’re all partly responsible, even if we don’t realise it. Many of today’s profitable products depend on the unpaid work of a small group of maintainers. Open-source licenses may let us take freely, but that doesn’t mean we should. The result: burnout, abandoned projects, and vulnerabilities that put everyone at risk.
The good news? We don’t need to wait for systemic change. There are practical things you can do right now to support the open-source ecosystem you depend on, from lightweight regular habits to team practices that make life better for maintainers and contributors alike. You’ll leave this session with concrete ideas that strengthen your dependencies while making your own work more resilient.
Don’t wait for your favourite open-source project to hit crisis mode before you think about how to help. Let’s start making open source sustainable - together.
Lotte Pitcher
Lotte Pitcher has been building websites with Microsoft technologies for longer than she cares to remember, starting with classic ASP and working through every version of .NET since. She previously ran a web development agency in London and is now Head of Developer Relations at Umbraco, where she helps maintain a successful open-source project while engaging with its dedicated global community.
As a Microsoft MVP and a long-time open-source contributor, Lotte organises meetups, hackathons and conferences, speaks at events and releases software. She is a passionate advocate for active participation in tech communities and aims to create inclusive, safe and welcoming spaces - both in-person and virtual - where everyone can learn, collaborate and thrive.