The State Of Open Conference 2025 highlighted ongoing challenges faced by open source maintainers, who often bear the brunt of user demands with minimal support. Many volunteers dedicate excessive hours yet receive little recognition or help, leading to feelings of isolation and burnout. Hector Martin, lead of the Asahi Linux project, recently quit due to these pressures, while Jamie Tanna, a maintainer, noted that while maintaining is rewarding, it can also be incredibly taxing, especially when dealing with demanding users. The situation raises concerns about the sustainability of open source projects relying on volunteer support.
Being an open source maintainer is really rewarding... except when it isn't.
Four hours a month... does not come close to meeting the demands of users and the 'How hard can it be?' brigade.
The open source ecosystem relies on volunteers putting in too many hours for too little support and the cracks are growing.
Many maintainers are under pressure, and many have either quit or are considering doing so.
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