“Free stuff is great, right? But if you're not going to interact and be part of the community in a good way, then you're not really part of the open source community.” – Peter Wang, co-founder of Anaconda.
Open source is more popular than ever. It’s everywhere! From the software powering billion-dollar companies to the libraries you import without thinking. More code than ever is being released under open source licenses, and more companies are relying it, often unknowingly.
Yet, despite its widespread popularity and usage, the mindset that made open source so powerful in the first place is getting lost.
The rise of open source and the loss of its spirit
Peter has been part of the open source world since the early 90s, watching it evolve from mailing lists and hand-built communities into today’s mainstream development pipeline. But in our latest short video release, he highlights the difference between using and participating in open source.
- Releasing code under an open license doesn't automatically create a community.
- Using open tools doesn’t mean you're part of the ecosystem.
- Filing a GitHub issue doesn't mean you’re contributing.
And when users show up with demands instead of questions, like “this is broken, when are you going to fix it?” then that’s entitlement, not open source.
The cultural clash between open source and business
Startups often open-source their tools as a way to get visibility or early adoption. And as Peter puts it:
“Sometimes it’s just a way of saying, ‘Please try our thing.’ But if people show up and want to contribute, what happens next?”
This is where the cultural mismatch shows up:
Open source is rooted in an abundance mindset: people coming together and building something great because they care.
Businesses often operate with a zero-sum mindset: focused on control, predictability, and competitive edge.
So where does that leave developers?
Peter makes a bold claim:
“Open source is more effective than capitalism.”
Because when people care, the results are often better, more stable and more innovative. But we can’t take that for granted. Peter calls on developers to ask themselves if they’re just consuming open source like it’s a free product, or are they engaging with it like a living community?
Watch all his thoughts on the subject in our new YouTube video, out now.
Want to watch more like this? We're Cult Repo, the team behind the Vue, React and GraphQL documentaries (and many more). Head over to our YouTube channel to see what else we've made!
Top comments (0)