In open source, countless projects are developed and led by commercial companies. I believe they share similar concerns, and those concerns may not have perfect solutions.
Concern 1: Low staffing reduces community activity (focused on Q&A)#
Lack of staff can come from many causes and roles.
When staffing is low, questions are answered slowly. Slow responses reduce the activity of people who ask questions.
Possible causes:
- layoffs
- employees leaving without replacement
- teams focusing on commercial products, leaving little time for open source
I can imagine solutions, but each has challenges:
- Option 1: shrink four Q&A channels into one, so all users ask in a single place
- Option 2: build a user expert group to answer questions
- Option 3: similar to option 2, find experts by domain and invite them when questions go unanswered
Problems with these options:
- Option 1 increases communication friction and worsens the user experience
- Option 2 requires judging expertise, defining operations, incentives, and sustainability
- Option 3 requires judging expertise and finding the right time and incentives to invite experts; operations must spend more energy hunting for unanswered questions
Overall, option 3 seems the most feasible, but it is still hard to execute.
Beyond quick fixes, there is a long-term method: grow the community and empower users. When the community is large enough and there are enough high-level contributors, this problem will resolve itself.
Staff shortages can also cause:
- fewer internal content outputs (articles, talks)
- slower project iteration and less frequent releases
If you ask me how to solve staffing issues, I am sorry, I cannot.
Concern 2: Marketing and operations are too expensive and get cut#
Open source is global, so many projects expand overseas. But for Chinese companies, overseas marketing is expensive.
Even domestic marketing and operations are costly.
So when the company wants to cut spending, these areas are often reduced, causing big impact.
I am not an expert in marketing, so I will not say more.
As for operations, I always look for efficiency. The most common method is collaboration: co-hosting meetups with other communities.
Concern 3: Over-commercialization#
The hardest issue for company-led open-source projects is commercialization. Open source is also a way to make money; pure altruism is rare.
Commercializing open source is hard for most companies.
If a company moves too fast or makes the wrong step, the project can suffer severe damage.
These concerns are not complaints or accusations. As an operator, I have to think ahead. If these issues happen, how should I respond?
I have been in open source for less than two years. My experience is limited. If experts have thoughts on these issues, please comment or message me.
There is a comment system on this blog. You can log in with your GitHub account to leave a comment. I work in open-source community operations. I am far from an expert, but I would love to connect and discuss. My WeChat ID: zhaofawei26.