Open Source is Broken, and it's Your Fault

Open source is broken - and we’re all partly responsible, probably without realising it. Profitable products are built on the work of a handful of unpaid experts, and while open-source licenses may give us permission to take freely, just because we can doesn’t mean we should. That imbalance has led to maintainer burnout, abandoned projects, and security vulnerabilities left open. The good news is that we don’t have to wait for systemic change. There are things you can do on Monday when you’re back at work to start redressing the balance. You might assume this means writing code or providing sponsorship, and it might, but we’ll also explore other ways to help: concrete actions that don’t require budget approval, practices that strengthen and support the open-source projects you rely on while actually benefiting you and your team. Don’t wait for someone else to fix it - learn how to make a real difference, one contribution at a time.