Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software (opens in new tab)

(amazon.com)

126 pointsjoelg5y ago19 comments

19 comments

I read a pre-print of this book and I can't recommend it highly enough. Nadia has spent more time than almost anyone thinking about open source software and how it gets maintained. You couldn't hope for a better guide through the topic than the author of "Roads and Bridges: The Unseen Labor Behind Our Digital Infrastructure" [1], the report that changed the whole conversation on open source funding. On top of that, the quality and design of the book is top-notch. Stripe Press did an amazing job -- it's totally gorgeous.

[1] https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/learning/research-report...

philips5y ago

I am only about 30 pages into my copy. I think this book has a strong potential to move the discussion on how and why open source works forward and the analysis thus far reflects many of my personal anecdotes as an OSS developer beginning my career in the Kernel and moving to GitHub style projects.

So far I think this book does an excellent job:

- Summarizing why the popular analysis of “OSS developers feel overwhelmed because they need more maintainers helping”. Spoiler: it is unlikely that more maintainers or even money is really what most developers need.

- Why the values and interests of the GitHub generation of OSS development is different than the Linux Kernel or FSF eras that proceeded it.

- A brief introduction to the personalities and movements that have formed OSS development so far.

lifeisstillgood5y ago

>>> Spoiler: it is unlikely that more maintainers or even money is really what most developers need.

So what is it ? :-)

captain_price75y ago

Fame, bragging rights, catching attention of potential recruiters....

exolymph5y ago

Nadia's website, the portal to her wonderful mind and work: https://nadiaeghbal.com/

ofou5y ago

The fact that is exactly 256 pages to read, makes it congruent to the source code.

koolba5y ago

Yes but are the page numbers zero origin?

m4635y ago

  for page in enumerate(pages,start=xiv):
    page.read()

biztos5y ago

There is a very interesting interview with the author on the A16Z podcast, I listened to it today and felt like I learned a few things:

https://a16z.com/2020/08/01/working-in-public-communities-op...

peterdemin5y ago

Isn’t it ironic to have this book on Amazon?

disposedtrolley5y ago

I guess it's good for distribution. I live in Australia and I'm more inclined to purchase these books since I get free international shipping via Prime.

But being the _only_ distribution channel? Probably not the best!

cinntaile5y ago

It's not even available on the international Amazon websites. If you want the physical book, the only option seems to be to pay the extra shipping costs and import taxes to get it shipped from the US. Hopefully this is just temporary.

2 more replies

xwdv5y ago

Frankly if it wasn’t on Amazon I’d write it off as some self published indie dev trash. Instead I ordered a copy damn near instantly.

Polylactic_acid5y ago

Thats very illogical since there is no acceptance criteria or review of books on Amazon.

Kednicma5y ago

Surely you mean that if it were not on Amazon, then you would have written it off. The subjunctive mood is important when considering counterfactual possibilities.

LiJiansheng5y ago

It is highly recommended ！ As a non developer/engineer , Nadia has a very different view for open source. Just like her last paper "Roads and Bridges: The Unseen Labor Behind Our Digital Infrastructure"[0], "Working in Public" is great work again.

[0] https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/learning/research-report...

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