Over the last few years, I’ve been thinking a lot about how students show up in open source, and how poorly most ecosystems are actually structured for them.
Students are often still described as “future contributors”, but in many projects they’re already creating real value today. The problem is that governance, onboarding, and incentives haven’t really caught up with that reality.
I wrote a longer piece on my portfolio site that covers:
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why students matter now, not someday
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where governance and onboarding tend to break down
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why many student programs look good on slides but don’t lead to retention
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and which questions I still don’t have good answers for
Full article: David Peter Hirsch | Community Ecosystem Senior Manager
What I’m especially interested in discussing here:
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Where do you see students dropping off most today?
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What actually helps students stay long enough to become maintainers?
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Should foundations or ecosystems do more than just “programs” and content?
I’m also turning parts of this into a small strategy simulator to explore trade-offs around students, governance, and AI. More on that soon.