Who Is Open Source About?

Open source is, at least in part, about you, where “you” refers to the user. Open Source Is Not About “Open Source Is Not About You” In other words: Rich Hickey was wrong when he wrote “Open Source Is Not About You” and I’m tired of pretending otherwise. Of course he’s not completely wrong, or his famous post would not have resonated quite so much in the first place. Obnoxious users who demand their personal use-cases be immediately addressed by volunteer maintainers for free should indeed be viewed as the pariahs that they are. Similarly, corporate users who want free support from the community that supplies their infrastructure to lower their costs. As should those who profit from this type of externalization by their own customers. But the exchange of “open source” (or even “free software”) is not as simple as “I have prepared some software for you, please enjoy it, you have no right to complain”, and maintainers ought to have a precise understanding of the costs and benefits — as…