Too often web apps and the frameworks they're built on support only the privileged—the always-online users and development teams with both front-end and back-end expertise. In…
My favorite part about our open source project, PencilBlue, is that I get to interact with people from all over the world. When we first started, there were just two of us…
In an open organization, measuring performance for particular roles like community managers may not be straightforward, especially when comparing those roles to others with…
You know the scene. The one In Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The book's plucky hero learns that his Aunt Polly wants him to spend his day off whitewashing the…
A short while ago I was reviewing one of my Twitter lists and I happened upon a tweet that led me to NethServer, an open source project that featured a product the likes of…
One of the great things about open source is its reach beyond just the software we use. Open source isn’t just about taking principled stands, it's about making things better…
This is Part 3 in a series of articles on community management best practices. Also read: Part 1: How community building can help an organization's bottom line Part 2: Why…
Human beings are complicated animals. We are packed with ambitions, fears, desires, anxieties, and other nuggets of the human condition. Of course, the extent and…
Dear Safia, I work in a research laboratory facility and I've developed some open source tools to interact with research equipment. After doing some Googling, I discovered…
In a 2013 survey, 11% of contributors to free and open source software identified as women. But perhaps the future looks brighter? We can answer this question by examining the…
In January, the CTO of ownCloud, Frank Karlitschek, sold his network of more than 30 community sites. The same month, DHI Group, Inc. announced that it completed the sale of…
One of the most important resources that an open source project can provide to potential contributors is contributor guidelines. When eager new contributors rush over to your…