Sustain

Guest Nixo Rokish Panelists Eriol Fox | Victory Brown Show Notes In this live episode of Sustain from Devconnect in Buenos Aires, host Eriol Fox and co-host Victory Brown sit down with Nixo Rokish, Protocol Support Lead at the Ethereum Foundation, to unpack how Ethereum’s deeply decentralized governance actually works in practice. They dive into the nuts and bolts of coordinating 100+ core contributors across 11+ client teams, why neutral facilitation is crucial, how Ethereum’s upgrade and EIP process avoids “single maintainer” failure modes, and what lessons other open source projects can steal to make their own governance more sustainable. The episode concludes with Nixo promoting the EthStaker project focused on decentralized staking. Hit download now to hear more! [00:00:38] Nixo explains Ethereum as a rare example of truly decentralized governance and she describes the Protocol Coordination team. [00:02:25] Why does this governance model matter for sustainability? Nixo says most projects rely on 1-2 key people and if they leave, the project can stall or die. [00:04:09] Eriol asks if anyone resists this decentralized, community-led governance model. Nixo says active participants are mostly enthusiastic about the process and the main friction from VCs wanting more control and social media “ship faster” pressure. [00:05:51] Eriol talks about money and influence entering open source projects and Nixo shares that core devs are motivated by building systems for many people, not concentrating profit. [00:08:00] Nixo walks through the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) process. [00:11:38] Victory asks how they manage consensus with so many people and companies involved. Nixo explains 11+ client times, only one is within EF, other are independent companies/nonprofits. [00:13:36] Eriol reacts to how impressive it is that devs can reach consensus via facilitation and asks Nixo for advice for smaller open source projects that want to adopt similar practices. Her key advice is to have a neutral facilitator. [00:16:13] Nixo shares where you can find her on the internet and she spotlights a project she used to work at called, EthStaker. Links podcast@sustainoss.org richard@sustainoss.org SustainOSS Discourse SustainOSS Mastodon SustainOSS Bluesky SustainOSS LinkedIn Open Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute) Richard Littauer Socials Eriol Fox X Victory Brown X Nixo Rokish X Devconnect-Buenos Aires, Argentina 2025, 17-22 November Ethereum Ethereum Foundation Institute of Forecasting & Planning EthStaker Credits Produced by Richard Littauer Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound Logistical support by Tina Arboleda from Digital Savvies Special Guest: Nixo Rokish.Support Sustain

Shubhranshu Choudhary, journalist and activist behind CGNet Swara, builds community-led, inclusive journalism in rural and conflict-affected India. He discusses why mainstream media feels aristocratic. He explores open source, Web3 and blockchain as tools for democratic media. He outlines using AI to reduce costs and building trust, anonymity, and local control for sustainable, people-powered news.

Mário Havel, protocol support engineer at the Ethereum Foundation and co-founder of Bordel Hackerspace in Prague. He talks about running a community makerspace and funding it with an Ethereum crowdloan. He contrasts free software values with corporate open source influence. He connects protocol scalability, security, and developer fellowships to long-term sustainability.

Join Rynn Mancuso, an open-source community leader, Maryblessing Okolie, a Nigerian contributor focused on inclusivity, and Mo McElaney, co-author of the Hippocratic License, as they dive into the convergence of ethics and open-source licensing. They explore the challenges behind the Hippocratic License's 'do no harm' philosophy, the necessity of updating Contributor Covenant 3.0 for global inclusivity, and the ongoing efforts in ethical AI. Their insights emphasize community involvement and the importance of creating safer digital spaces for everyone.

Dawn Wages, former Chair of the Python Software Foundation and long-time community volunteer, joins Loren Crary, the PSF's Deputy Executive Director, to dive deep into the challenges of funding and governance in the Python ecosystem. They discuss the significant decision to turn down a $1.5M NSF grant due to anti-DEI conditions. The duo highlights the importance of community support in fundraising, sharing excitement for upcoming events like PyCon US 2026, while stressing that diversity and inclusion are essential to the PSF’s values and future.

Richard J. Acton, a research data outputs manager at the Human Developmental Biology Initiative, discusses his innovative checklist designed to enhance software reproducibility. He dives into the importance of open science, addressing challenges like academic demands and the need for better citation practices. Acton highlights how this checklist can boost academic recognition and facilitate collaboration within research communities. He also emphasizes the role of funders and publishers in supporting openness in scientific research.

Guest Qianqian Ye Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, Richard hosts a conversation with Qianqian “Q” Ye, an artist, creative technologist, and educator who recently led the p5.js project, an open-source JavaScript library designed to prioritize accessibility and diversity in learning to code. Q shares her journey from an architectural background to contributing and eventually leading p5.js, a library created by artists for artists with a strong focus on visual feedback and accessibility. They discuss the importance of decentralizing leadership, setting boundaries to avoid burnout, and empowering contributors to ensure the project's sustainability. Key topics include the role of care work in open source, the community-driven evolution of p5.js, and strategies for maintaining a collaborative and inclusive environment. Q also highlights the significance of providing clear documentation and recognizing all forms of contributions to foster a welcoming community. Press download now to hear more! [00:001:01] Q explains what p5.js is and how it teaches people to code. [00:02:11] Q shares her journey from former architect turned creative technologist and highlights her community progression through translation and outreach. [00:04:19] Why is p5.js different? Q emphasizes the output is art, not code, making it more inclusive and intuitive for beginners. [00:05:40] Richard inquires about the p5.js community and contributors and Q tells us there are 700-800 contributors officially recognized. [00:06:33] Q elaborates on the relationship with the Processing Foundation. P5.js operates semi-independently under its support, and she talks about the staff size for p5.js. [00:07:49] Q believes the traditional open source volunteerism is problematic and the Sovereign Tech Agency provided funding to support mentors and contributors. [00:09:19] Q’s essay “Care Work in OSS” explores the invisible labor behind software projects and advocates for recognizing emotional labor and decentralized decision making. [00:10:15] We hear about the rotating leadership and inclusivity and how documentation and mentorship is the key to smooth transitions. [00:13:18] Q talks about the translation stewardship with a decentralized structure with language-specific stewards and using inclusive onboarding and translations. [00:15:31] Richard questions preventing burnout in stewards and Q elaborates how p5.js handles this and why access includes joy and inclusivity. [00:18:05] We hear how decisions about feature acceptance are made through community review and discussions, as well as how some users challenged the access-first policy. [00:20:15] Balancing art and community is discussed here as Q clarifies that open source and the arts often conflict due to individualism vs. collectivism. [00:21:48] How does Q help the open source community learn and give credit to other people well all the time? She gives routine shoutouts in release notes, social media, and seeks to credit all contributions, not just code. [00:24:48] Q shares how she deals with emotional burnout and boundaries and tips for setting boundaries. [00:28:18] What’s next for Q? She’s returning from maternity leave as Manager of Community and Partnerships for the Processing Foundation, and focus on building relationships and discussing sustainable funding at UN Open Source Week. [00:29:32] Find out where you can follow Q and p5.js on the web. Quotes [00:08:00] “I strongly believe that the volunteer-based model in open source is very problematic, and I’ve been trying to experiment different ways on doing thing alternatively.” [00:09:55] “OSS appears faceless, but there are so many people behind OSS.” [00:11:17] “Creators and maintainers of OSS carry bias of their own when they maintain the software.” [00:16:20] “Having to say no helped us to clarify the vision for the p5.js project.” Spotlight [00:30:01] Richard’s spotlight is the book, Things Become Other Things by Craig Mod [00:30:50] Q’s spotlight is two contributors, Dave Pagurek and Kenneth Lim. Links SustainOSS podcast@sustainoss.org richard@sustainoss.org SustainOSS Discourse SustainOSS Mastodon SustainOSS Bluesky SustainOSS LinkedIn Open Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute) Richard Littauer Socials Qianqian Ye LinkedIn Qianqian Ye Website p5.js p5.js Access Statement All Contributors Processing Foundation Sovereign Tech Agency Lauren Lee McCarthy Making p5.js by Lauren Lee McCarthy UN Open Source Week 2025, NYC, June 16-20 Things Become Other Things by Craig Mod P5.js 2.0 and an open source philosophy by Dave Pagurek Designing an addon library system for p5.js 2.0 by Kenneth Lim Credits Produced by Richard Littauer Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound Special Guest: Qianqian Ye.Support Sustain

Guest Federico Mena Quintero Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this special Maintainer Month episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer chats with Federico Mena Quintero, a foundational GNOME hacker and board member. Federico shares his journey from learning image processing in high school, becoming a key contributor to the GIMP project, and founding the GNOME desktop environment. He discusses the historical context, challenges, and achievements of GNOME and open source development. The conversation delves into the importance of maintaining infrastructural software, adapting to new technologies like the Rust programming language, and the socio-economic factors influencing the open source community's demographics. Press download now to hear more! [00:01:29] Federico describes GNOME as the “surface of your desk”- the visual and interactive layer of the Linux desktop. [00:02:16] Federico started writing image processing programs in high school and discovered GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) and began contributing plugins. Encouraged by positive feedback, he continued developing filters and building community resources. [00:10:20] The proprietary Motif GUI toolkit used by GIMP prompted the creation of GTK (GIMP Toolkit), a free alternative. GTK was split from GIMP and became a foundation for GNOME. Miguel de Icaza learned about modular component design from Microsoft and brought those ideas to the GNOME team. [00:14:48] Federico explains KDE was already launched but used the non-free Qt toolkit and GNOME was created as a fully free alternative using GTK. [00:17:58] They discuss GNOME’s long-term success which has thousands of contributors and institutional backing from its foundation. [00:21:06] Federico reflects on his privilege. He never had to apply for his first job because he was recruited and recognizes the barriers to entry for underrepresented communities. [00:24:32] The conversation turns to global south and diversity. Federico discusses the limitations on who can participate in open source due to time, money, and societal roles, and notes that women and people outside the Global North often face greater barriers. [00:30:37] Richard inquires what Federico means by “maintaining infrastructure.” He explains that open source today is less about new features and more about keeping infrastructure working. [00:32:59] Federico talks about a recent project to replace a vital but abandoned infrastructure component and emphasizes the need for sustainable maintenance strategies. [00:36:25] Federico became maintainer of Librsvg image rendering library from C to Rust. [00:40:00] Find out where you can follow Federico on the web. Quotes [00:31:10] “Software doesn’t rot, but the environment around it changes.” Spotlight [00:40:57] Richard’s spotlight is the book, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. [00:41:49] Federico’s spotlight is two books: Malintzin’s Choices and James. Links SustainOSS podcast@sustainoss.org richard@sustainoss.org SustainOSS Discourse SustainOSS Mastodon SustainOSS Bluesky SustainOSS LinkedIn Open Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute) Richard Littauer Socials Federico Mena Quintero Blog Federico Mena Quintero Mastodon GNOME GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) GTK Librsvg 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann La Malinche Malintzin’s Choices by Camila Townsend James by Percival Everett Credits Produced by Richard Littauer Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound Special Guest: Federico Mena Quintero.Support Sustain

Guest Sarah Rainsberger Panelists Richard Littauer | Abby Mayes | Eriol Fox Show Notes In this special Maintainer Month episode of Sustain, hosts Richard, Abby, and Eriol talk with guest, Sarah Rainsberger, a documentation lead at Astro, who shares her journey from teaching high school mathematics to becoming an open source contributor. Sarah elaborates on her approach to documentation, emphasizing the importance of clear, supportive, and inclusive communication to onboard new contributors effectively. She also discusses using low-tech tools like Chromebooks and cloud-based editors for open source contributions. The episode highlights the strategies employed by the Astro Docs team to recognize and value contributions. Press download now to hear more! [00:02:30] Sarah shares her background, role at Astro, how she got involved in documentation that started by fixing a bad choir website, and why she chose Astro over Gatsby and quickly became a key contributor. [00:06:49] She reflects on the moment she connected her work with the concept of “open source.” [00:07:54] Sarah talks about becoming a leader using Chromebook, taking lessons on Scrimba, and using cloud tools like CodeSandbox and Gitpod, the Astro community embracing her methods, and how she built a reputation as someone making meaningful contributions regardless of hardware. [00:14:24] Sarah explains how docs are “self-serve support” and essential to project success. [00:16:28] The conversation turns to combatting the stigma that docs are low value and Sarah addresses the false perception that documentation isn’t real development. [00:18:28] Sarah shares that Astro has over 1,000 docs contributors and details their intentional process of welcoming, crediting, and celebrating new contributors. [00:24:37] How does Astro handle lower-quality contributions? Astro uses the motto: “Not worse than what we had before.” They edit or mentor rather than reject, to build confidence and retain contributors. [00:29:12] Astro maintains a separate documentation site (“D Squared”) that outlines its processes for contributing to documentation. [00:33:25] Sarah shares where to find her work at the Astro Docs and where to find her. Quotes [00:05:26] “If I’m going in, let’s go all in.” [00:12:50] “I have chosen to maintain low tech.” [00:12:59] “I am known for my evil devices.” [00:14:36] “Docs are so important to a project that you want someone else to use or contribute to.” [00:15:28] “Docs is the most scalable type of support that you can have.” [00:16:37] “Everyone complains about docs until it’s someone else’s project.” [00:26:51] “PRs don’t just fall out of the sky; they are effort, and they are work.” [00:27:05] “There is some motivation behind this PR.” [00:31:41] “Several of our maintainers started by translating the docs.” [00:31:49] “If you want to find mistakes in your English docs, you want translators.” Spotlight [00:34:40] Abby’s’ spotlight is CommunityRule. [00:35:04] Eriol’s spotlight is State of Docs. [00:35:19] Richard’s spotlight is Nathan Schneider and the Protocol Oral History Project. [00:36:08] Sarah’s spotlight is Better GitHub Co-Authors. Links SustainOSS podcast@sustainoss.org richard@sustainoss.org SustainOSS Discourse SustainOSS Mastodon SustainOSS Bluesky SustainOSS LinkedIn Open Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute) Richard Littauer Socials Abby Cabunoc Mayes GitHub Eriol Fox GitHub Sarah Rainsberger Website Sarah Rainsberger Mastodon Non-code contributions are the secret to open source success (The ReadME Project) Astro Astro Docs Contribute to Astro Gitpod Scrimba Hugo Server CommunityRule State of Docs Better GitHub Co-Authors Sustain Podcast-Episode 85: Geoffrey Huntley and Sustaining OSS with Gitpod Sustain Podcast- 2 episodes featuring Nathan Schneider Credits Produced by Richard Littauer Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound Special Guest: Sarah Rainsberger.Support Sustain

Guest Kade Morton Panelists Richard Littauer | Eriol Fox Show Notes In this Maintainers Month episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer and co-host Eriol Fox talk with cybersecurity expert Kade Morton from Arachne Digital. The conversation dives into how Kade’s unconventional path through criminology and international relations led him into cybersecurity and open source. They explore the unique challenges of sustaining open source security tools, particularly for human rights activists and under-resourced groups, the tension between proprietary and open solutions, and how geopolitical contexts and human motivations influence modern digital threat landscapes. Hit download now to hear more! [00:01:41] Kade explains his work is split between a day job working security operations and a startup he runs called Arachne Digital. [00:02:51] Kade tells us about his background, how he got into cybersecurity through self-teaching and open source, and how his criminology and international relations studies informed his interest in cyber threats. [00:05:17] Kade discusses the open source projects he maintains, specifically ‘Thread.’ [00:06:50] We learn about the difficulty of getting others invested in better tools and Kade discusses challenges explaining open source values to corporate environments. [00:12:26] Richard asks whether closed-source software is more secure and Kade highlights how most real world exploits target proprietary software. [00:14:57] Eriol brings up security perceptions in non-tech orgs using digital tools. Kade shares how Arachne Digital offers free services to vetted human rights orgs and he they discuss challenges balancing funding and access in human rights cybersecurity. [00:19:17] Richard reflects on monetization models for sustaining open source cybersecurity. Kade explains his company avoids fear-based marketing and promotes awareness instead. [00:22:40] Kade outlines how their threat-informed defense model works. [00:25:42] Eriol asks what changes could help improve open source sustainability. Kade discusses feeling out of place in both government and open source spaces and emphasizes cross-pollination between sectors to reduce polarity. [00:28:29] Richard introduces the concept of “digital sovereignty.” Kade warns of the risks of splintering the internet through nationalism and advocates for a balanced middle ground between centralization and fragmentation. [00:31:41] Kade shares where you can find his work on the web. Quotes [00:13:44] “It’s mostly proprietary software that’s being hacked.” [00:29:40] “The internet is the world’s largest shared resource.” Spotlight [00:32:56] Eriol’s spotlight is a repository called: The Design We Open. [00:33:49] Richard’s spotlight is 1Password and Robin Riley. [00:34:31 Kade’s spotlight is a shoutout to Mitre for TRAM and Justin Seitz who wrote a blog post on a project called, Searx. Links SustainOSS podcast@sustainoss.org richard@sustainoss.org SustainOSS Discourse SustainOSS Mastodon SustainOSS Bluesky SustainOSS LinkedIn Open Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute) Richard Littauer Socials Eriol Fox GitHub Kade Morton LinkedIn Arachne Digital Arachne Digital LinkedIn Arachne Digital (Medium) Arachne Digital (YouTube) Arachne Digital (Bluesky) Arachne Digital (GitHub) Thread-GitHub The National Digital Forum (NDF) The New Design Congress Open Technology Fund -Security Lab The Design We Open (GitHub) 1Password TRAM Searx Credits Produced by Richard Littauer Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound Special Guest: Kade Morton.Support Sustain