CHAOSScast

Thank you to the folks at Sustain for providing the hosting account for CHAOSSCast! CHAOSScast – Episode 117 In this episode of CHAOSScast, Georg Link and Sean Goggins welcome guest Vicky Brasseur, author of Business Success with Open Source and Forge Your Future with Open Source. The conversation explores Vicky’s early journey into open source, starting from discovering Project Gutenberg in the early '90s to using Linux for the first time, the challenges companies face when using open source software, and how organizations can better leverage it strategically. The discussion also delves into her book, Forge Your Future with Open Source, which addresses common questions about contributing to open source projects. Vicky highlights the gaps in strategic open source usage within organizations and offers insights on how companies can better utilize open source software to reduce business risks. The conversation wraps up with practical advice for making a compelling business case for open source contributions and the importance of speaking the language of decision-makers. Press download now! [00:01:05] Vicky introduces herself, shares her journey into open source, and introduces Project Gutenberg, LibriVox, and the value of community contributions to open knowledge and public domain resources. [00:06:44] Vicky shares how her first book, Forge Your Future with Open Source, helps newcomers start their contribution journey and why she wrote it to be reused across audiences. [00:10:54] There’s a discussion on how open source opens career path globally, especially in underserved economics. [00:12:46] Vicky shares some advice from her book for new contributors: Don’t start with Linux and find a project in an area you love (e.g., music, cars, sewing) to maintain long-term motivation. [00:15:18] Sean and Georg share their personal origin stories in open source. [00:19:23] Georg introduces Vicky’s second book, Business Success with Open Source, and she discusses the premise of the book and the “Three Part Framework.” [00:26:08] Vicky argues that even Linux Foundation member companies often don’t understand open source at an organizational level. [00:29:19] Vicky is available for consulting, following her layoff. She encourages listeners to reach out via her website. [00:33:55] Why do projects fail? Vicky shares failures come from poor communication and unchecked assumptions across industries, not just tech. [00:35:36] Vicky criticizes companies for chasing vanity metrics like GitHub stars and praises the CHAOSS Project but notes most companies misuse metrics or don’t tie them to strategic goals. Also, “Script kiddie” is explained. [00:40:13] Vicky explains how to ethically influence execs by speaking their language, use Power Points and show cost comparisons (e.g., OpenStreetMap vs Google Maps), and she emphasizes to use “TL;DR” (Too Long; Didn’t Read) friendly presentations to connect open source financial and operational outcomes. [00:44:27] There’s a special discount code for everyone to use on Vicky’s eBooks and audiobooks on The Pragmatic Bookshelf website and the code is VBCHAOSS **for 30% off **through Oct 2025. [00:45:16] Find out where you can follow Vicky and her work on the internet. Value Adds (Picks) of the week: [00:46:07] Sean’s pick is the movie, Multiplicity (1996) starring Michael Keaton (not Carbon Copy as stated.) [00:47:29] Vicky’s pick is sharing her joy in spinning wool with a vintage spinning wheel. [00:49:35] Georg’s pick is going to an amusement park with his family. Panelists: Georg Link Sean Goggins Guest: VM (Vicky) Brasseur Links: CHAOSS CHAOSS Project X CHAOSScast Podcast CHAOSS YouTube podcast@chaoss.community Georg Link Website Sean Goggins X VM (Vicky) Brasseur Website VM (Vicky) Brasseur Blog VM (Vicky) Brasseur LinkedIn VM (Vicky) Brasseur Mastodon Project Gutenberg LibriVox Forge Your Future with Open Source by VM (Vicky) Brasseur (Code: VBCHAOSS) Business Success with Open Source by VM (Vicky) Brasseur (Code: VBCHAOSS) Nora McDonald (College of Engineering and Computing) Zotero Failure: Why It Happens & How to Benefit from It by VM (Vicky) Brasseur Script kiddie Kevin Mitnick Multiplicity Spinning wheelSpecial Guest: VM (Vicky) Brasseur.Support CHAOSScast

Thank you to the folks at Sustain for providing the hosting account for CHAOSSCast! CHAOSScast – Episode 116 In this episode of CHAOSScast, host Georg Link is joined by guests Sarina Canelake, Feanil Patel, and Felipe Montoya from the Open edX community, to discuss their experiences with the GrimoireLab tool and the launch and growth of their maintainer program.  The conversation dives into the history and impact of the Open edX project, the evolution of their maintainer program, and the use of metrics to track and improve community health. The guests also share personal stories and provide insights into the challenges and successes they’ve encountered along the way. Press download now! [00:00:34] Sarina, Feanil, and Felipe introduce themselves and their backgrounds. [00:02:02] Feanil and Sarina explain the origins of the maintainer program, the mix of Python and JavaScript repositories, and how maintainers influence code direction. [00:04:02] Feanil explains the history of Open edX, being open sourced in 2013 by edX (MOOC platform) and how Axim Collaborative took over stewardship in 2021. [00:07:04] We hear Felipe’s journey into the project from student to TA to community contributor and leader since 2012. He details the empowerment and pressure of receiving merge access in the Core Contributor program. [00:13:09] Sarina Explains why merge rights were initially limited to edX staff, and how the shift to community-led merging happened post 2020. [00:15:26] Feanil describes how the Maintainer Program now distributes ownership and improves repository health. [00:17:12] Feanil talks about his incremental metrics philosophy: starts with presence, then track responsiveness. [00:21:34] Georg asks how maintainers use GrimoireLab dashboards and filters. Sarina explains the use of Backstage ownership metadata for filtering dashboards by maintainers or groups and Feanil emphasizes the need for flexible tooling due to overlapping team memberships. [00:24:50] Felipe describes using dashboards to monitor his team’s participation and accountability. [00:25:40] Sarina asks Felipe about dashboards he uses on Bitergia to track team contributions. [00:28:26] Sarina shares how she tracks Elephant Factor and trends in commit and LOC volume and Georg highlights the value of identity reconciliation in data. [00:30:45] Felipe talks about monitoring Slack, issues, and commits to ensure ecosystem health post-company transitions and Sarina notes challenges of mapping Slack/Discourse identities in Sorting Hat for deeper engagement metrics. [00:34:11] There’s a discussion on syncing internal onboarding identity forms with Sorting Hat manually for now. [00:35:35] Georg raises concerns about metric misuse in performance reviews. Sarina and Feanil stress metrics as guidance, not performance tools, and Felipe shares his team uses metrics as lagging indicators, not for pressure. [00:39:55] Sarina explains how their impact report uses lines of code, commit trends, and elephant factor to show growth and codebase health. [00:42:32] Find out where you can go to get involved and contribute to Open edX and edunext. Value Adds (Picks) of the week: [00:44:15] Georg’s pick is a podcast called, ‘Through The Griffin Door’ by the Carlin Brothers. [00:44:50] Sarina’s pick is her kitten who’s taught herself how to play fetch and a podcast called, ‘The Best Idea Yet.’ [00:45:37] Feanil’s pick is ‘Logseq,’ a journaling and notetaking tool. [00:46:42] Felipe’s pick is the ‘Waking Up’ app for mindful meditation. Panelist: Georg Link Guests: Sarina Canelake Feanil Patel Felipe Montoya Links: CHAOSS CHAOSS Project X CHAOSScast Podcast CHAOSS YouTube podcast@chaoss.community Georg Link Website Sarina Canelake LinkedIn Sarina Canelake Website Feanil Patel LinkedIn Feanil Patel GitHub Felipe Montoya LinkedIn Open edX Open edX Documentation Open edX (YouTube) Open edX dashboard Open edX GitHub edunext (YouTube) edunext Axim Collaborative MOOC Through The Griffin Door (YouTube) The Best Idea Yet Podcast Logseq Waking Up Special Guests: Feanil Patel, Felipe Montoya, and Sarina Canelake.Support CHAOSScast

Thank you to the folks at Sustain for providing the hosting account for CHAOSSCast! In this double-length CHAOSScast special episode, hosts Harmony Elendu and George Link along with panelists from the CHAOSS community, come together to reflect on their experiences at two major open source events: CHAOSScon North America (co-located with the Open Source Summit) and the United Nations Open Source Week in New York. The episode is packed with personal insights, highlighted key talks, software updates, themes from the events, memorable community interactions, and thoughtful conversations about the future of open source, digital sovereignty, and sustainability. Press download now! [00:00:19] Harmony and the guests introduce themselves and their roles in CHAOSS and the open source community. [00:02:36] Everyone shares their CHAOSScon talk highlights. [00:10:49] Conference moments and experiences are talked about such as Linux Foundation’s puppy therapy booths to reduce stress, knitting as a conversation starter, and spontaneous hallway discussions about software security and SBOMs. [00:17:10] Software updates: Augur now runs easily via Docker Compose, making it accessible to more users. [00:18:59] Elizabeth explains behind the scenes of organizing CHAOSScon with Linux Foundation support, and challenges with speaker curation, CFP management, and logistics. [00:23:17] Harmony invites listeners to CHAOSScon Africa and OSCAFEST’25 happening in August, both in the same week and same location. [00:23:45] Elizabeth, Laura, and Andrew share their CHAOSS booth experiences. [00:28:28] The guests talk about meeting longtime online collaborators in person for the first time. [00:30:16] Cali talks about the Data Science Hackathon, student participation, hands-on project exploration with 8Knot and Auger and the event was hosted by the CHAOSS Data Science Working Group. [00:36:43] Part 2 starts here as host Georg Link takes over with guests Divya, Ruth, and Daniel, who all attended the United Nations Open Source Week in New York. [00:39:45] We hear some key moments from the UN Open Source Week 2025: Governments increasingly adopting OSPOs, sessions on humanitarian tech and open source for crisis response, the energy, engagement, and diversity of thought. [00:50:09] Ruth shares something new she learned going to an Open Source Hardware presentation where they did a demo of DIY microscopes and Georg shares an inspiring story he learned using open hardware. [00:52:12] After being at this conference, Ruth sees open source headed for digital sovereignty and there’s a discussion on the trend toward collaborative Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and public goods. [00:55:37] There’s a conversation on sustainability and open source communities. [01:01:09] Governance and transparency is discussed, Daniel shares an example with Germany’s Sovereign Tech Fund supporting critical infrastructure, and Divya shares going to a session that was focused on payments. [01:06:05] We end with Georg highlighting to check out some recordings from the UN Open Source Week 2025 website and to check out the UN Open Source Principles. Value Adds (Picks) of the week: [00:32:03] Harmony’s pick is a local coffee. [00:32:26] Cali’s pick is being able to road bike for the first time since surgery. [00:33:05] Elizabeth’s pick is feeling grateful to be in an industry that provides opportunities to meet with and connect with people from all over the world. [00:34:39] Laura’s pick is spending two weeks with open source folks who care far more about people than profits. [00:35:14] Andrew’s pick is reconnecting with Elizabeth and first time traveling with the Timeshifter App to help with jet lag. [01:07:32] Ruth’s pick is friends. [01:08:00] Daniel’s pick is the Digital Resilience Forum. [01:09:27] Divya’s pick is tinkering with pottery. [01:11:16] Georg’s pick is his herbal garden. Panelists: Harmony Elendu Georg Link Guests: Elizabeth Barron Andrew Nesbitt Cali Dolfi Laura Langdon Divya Mohan Ruth Ikegah Daniel Izquierdo Links: CHAOSS CHAOSS Project X CHAOSScast Podcast CHAOSS YouTube podcast@chaoss.community Georg Link Website Harmony Elendu X Elizabeth Barron X Andrew Nesbitt Mastodon Andrew Nesbitt Website Cali Dolfi LinkedIn Cali Dolfi X Laura Langdon Website Laura Langdon Mastodon Ruth Ikegah X Ruth Ikegah LinkedIn Divya Mohan Website Divya Mohan LinkedIn Daniel Izquierdo LinkedIn CHAOSScon Africa 2025 OSCAFEST’25 CHAOSS Data Science Working Group Timeshifter Apps Digital Public Goods Registry Sovereign Tech Agency United Nations Open Source Week 2025 United Nations Digital Public Goods United Nations Open Source Principles OpenFlexure Microscope (open hardware project) Digital Resilience ForumSpecial Guests: Andrew Nesbitt, Cali Dolfi, Divya Mohan, and Laura Langdon.Support CHAOSScast

Christian Taylor, the Head of the Open Source Office at Intersect, joins Tex McCutcheon and Johnny Kelly to discuss enhancing open source community health within the Cardano blockchain. They delve into the innovative 'paid open source model' to motivate contributors and governance complexities that ensure transparency. The team explores how AI can analyze blockchain trends with unique visualizations like the 'jellyfish' diagram. They highlight the importance of community engagement and reflect on personal growth, showcasing the human side of tech.

Daniel Izquierdo, a community health analytics expert, joins Peculiar Umeh, an open source advocate, Cassie Seo, a specialist in responsible technology, and Ijeoma Onwuka, a program manager, to discuss their insights from the FOSS Backstage conference. They explore innovative ways to measure the social and economic impact of open source projects. The conversation highlights diversity initiatives, the importance of sustainable practices, and emerging digital health infrastructures that balance privacy with collaboration. Personal growth and community impact are central themes.

Chrys Wu, the product lead at Invest in Open Infrastructure, discusses pivotal insights from the 'State of Open Infrastructure' report. She highlights how community health frameworks impact decision-making, focusing on CHAOSS, FOREST, and POSI. The conversation dives into the significance of trust and transparency in open infrastructure, alongside the role of tools like InfraFinder in improving community engagement. Chrys also addresses challenges in attracting contributors and the importance of diversity metrics for robust open-source projects.

Thank you to the folks at Sustain for providing the hosting account for CHAOSSCast! CHAOSScast – Episode 111 In this episode of the CHAOSScast, host Harmony leads a discussion featuring panelists Dawn Foster, Peculiar Umeh, Aishat Muhammed, and Elizabeth Barron, all of whom are involved in the CHAOSS Education Project. They discuss their roles within the CHAOSS Project and introduce the CHAOSS Education Project, which aims to create accessible learning resources for open source contributors at various experience levels. They cover the project's categories, share their personal contributions, personal growth, the impact on the community, future plans for sustainability and expansion, and how you can contribute to the project. Hit download now to hear more! [00:00:27] The panelists introduce themselves and their backgrounds. [00:02:40] Peculiar gives an overview of the CHAOSS Education Project which launched at CHAOSScon Europe 2025. [00:04:39] Dawn talks about the target audience of the project, with the primary audience being CHAOSS community newcomers. and anybody can take any of the courses. [00:06:38] Elizabeth talks about her contribution with creating an ‘Into to CHAOSS’ video and helped review and update script content. [00:07:19] Aishat shares her contribution working on content about types of open source and licensing and how research deepened her own understanding. [00:09:20] Peculiar talks about her contributions as Project Manager where she led project design, content workflow, contributor onboarding, and quality review. [00:10:57] Dawn shares her contributions with creating the ‘Practitioner Guides’ videos and other key educational content. [00:12:12] Elizabeth speaks about the impact of the project, transitioning chaotic onboarding into a structured learning tool. [00:13:38] Aishat explains her personal growth form contributing, gaining deeper understanding of licensing and types of open source, and improving technical and collaborative skills. [00:14:45] Dawn shares her observations on community engagement and how happy she is seeing new faces, especially from CHAOSS Africa. [00:15:59] Peculiar shares her project management growth and how it enhanced her people skills, patience, and learned the value of diverse collaboration. [00:17:23] Harmony wants to know the future of CHAOSS Education Project and Elizabeth shares the project’s future and elaborates on the success of the project. [00:19:46] Aishat fills us in on how to contribute to the CHAOSS Education Project. [00:22:05] Peculiar talks about the global impact on the project with a streamlined onboarding process, positive community feedback, and universities and external communities using the materials. Value Adds (Picks) of the week: [00:25:07] Harmony’s pick is to be open to mentor everyone as much as you can. [00:25:49] Dawn’s pick is vacations. [00:26:16] Elizabeth’s pick is “Good Things Happen to me and for me list.” [00:27:05] Aishat’s pick is friendship. [00:27:50] Peculiar’s** **pick is adventure. Panelist: Harmony Elendu Guests: Dawn Foster Peculiar Umeh Aishat Muhammed Elizabeth Barron Links: CHAOSS CHAOSS Project X CHAOSScast Podcast podcast@chaoss.community Harmony Elendu X Dawn Foster Bluesky Peculiar Umeh LinkedIn Elizabeth Barron LinkedIn Aishat Muhammed LinkedIn CHAOSS Education CHAOSS Education Project CHAOSS Education GitHubSpecial Guests: Aishat Muhammed and Peculiar Umeh.Support CHAOSScast

Thank you to the folks at Sustain for providing the hosting account for CHAOSSCast! CHAOSScast – Episode 110 In this episode of CHAOSScast, host Harmony Elendu brings together two remarkable CHAOSS Africa contributors, Busayo Ojo and Yigakpoa Ikpae (Yiga), for an inspiring conversation in the "20 Minutes in CHAOSS Africa*"* series. They discuss how they discovered open source, navigated the CHAOSS community, overcame early confusion, and ultimately flourished as leaders and mentors. Also, they highlight the importance of participation, attending meetings, helping newcomers, and the unique initiatives within the CHAOSS community that help foster inclusivity and engagement. Press the download button now to hear more! [00:01:41] Busayo shares her open source journey that started in 2021. [00:04:08] Yiga shares finding her place with discovering CHAOSS at an event but initially didn’t understand it but returned after being inspired by the community’s warmth. [00:06:20] Busayo talks about settling into the community and praises CHAOSS for being welcoming, having an effective first-time contributor guide, and the importance of showing up and helping others. [00:10:54] Yiga talks about her first contributions and growth, starting with small tasks to build confidence, and becoming more involved through liaison and support roles. [00:12:46] Busayo explains how open source improved her career trajectory and global network, being inspired by other leaders, and forming lasting friendships. [00:14:21] Yiga explains her improved communication and leadership skills, learning humility and openness to feedback, and how contributions can open career doors. [00:17:02] Busayo shares her favorite CHAOSS initiatives including the Tour Guide Program, helping organize CHAOSScon Africa 2023, and the CHAOSS Hacktoberfest event. [00:19:59] What keeps Yiga going? She credits YouTube recordings for learning and highlights CHAOSS’s documentation culture and transparency. [00:20:55] Harmony reflects on how YouTube recordings helped him personally. Value Adds (Picks) of the week: [00:21:20] Harmony’s pick is AI has been his personal assistant lately. [00:21:48] Busayo’s pick is taking a break is very important. [00:22:59] Yiga’s pick is using AI, take breaks, eat good food, and enjoy life. *Panelist: * Harmony Elendu Guests: Yigakpoa Ikpae (Yiga) Busayo Ojo Links: CHAOSS CHAOSS Project X CHAOSScast Podcast CHAOSS YouTube podcast@chaoss.community Harmony Elendu X Busayo Ojo (Medium) Yigakpoa Ikpae (Yiga) (CHAOSS) CHAOSS AfricaSpecial Guest: Yigakpoa Ikpae.Support CHAOSScast

Brittany Istenes, a FINOS Ambassador with expertise in open source compliance, joins Senior Data Scientist Cali Dolfi to explore crucial issues in software security. They discuss the alarming rise of malicious packages and the vital role of Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs) in safeguarding open source projects. The duo highlights challenges in standardizing SBOM formats and the necessity of assessing project health. They also provide practical steps organizations can take to mitigate risks and improve community engagement.

Thank you to the folks at Sustain for providing the hosting account for CHAOSSCast! CHAOSScast – Episode 108 In this episode of CHAOSScast, Harmony Elendu hosts a dynamic panel discussion with Divya Mohan, Yaya Xia, and Leon Nunes to discuss the latest updates from the CHAOSS Asia chapter. The episode dives into the history and growth of the CHAOSS Asia chapter, from focusing on metrics and localization to expanding collaborations across Asia. They discuss the challenges of awareness, contributor participation and cultural and linguistic diversity. The conversation also highlights plans for 2025 to include creating a database of open-source communities in Asia and enhancing community engagement through tailored awareness efforts. The conversation also touches on the importance of mentorship in open-source communities. Hit download now to hear more! [00:00:31] The guests introduce themselves and their backgrounds. [00:03:31] Yaya tells us the brief history of CHAOSS Asia that started in 2020. [00:05:09] Divya talks about the growth and strategy of CHAOSS Asia and how it shifted to broader community engagement and partnerships. [00:07:53] Leon talks about contributor participation and the GitHub repo for issues if anyone is interested in participating. [00:09:24] Divya shares plans for 2025 to include creating a database of open source communities in Asia. [00:11:02] Yaya dives into some challenges such as cultural and language barriers, CHAOSS is more research-focused, and the need for localized, language-accessible discussions and events. [00:13:18] Divya brings up awareness being a huge challenge when it comes to the CHAOSS project because many assume CHAOSS is only about non-technical/community work and region-specific tailored outreach is necessary. [00:15:29] Harmony asks about the current focus in CHAOSS Asia and Divya shares increasing awareness through virtual meetups, conference talks, and partnering with organizations. [00:16:40] Leon speaks about the social media and language inclusion presence with CHAOSS Asia managing Twitter and LinkedIn and considering localized subgroups for language-specific events. [00:18:21] Yaya talks about local orgs and events to connect CHAOSS and wants to bring more attention to inclusion for disabled contributors (DEI). [00:20:05] Divya highlights the importance of partnerships and amplifying others’ work. [00:21:26] Divya talks about how they are maximizing community and contributors’ participation with meetings scheduled for convenience across Asian time zones and emphasis on safety, inclusion, and providing space for diverse voices. [00:23:11] Yaya speaks about wanting to demonstrate metrics’ value to more maintainers and plans to present at local events in native languages (e.g. Chinese). Value Adds (Picks) of the week: [00:25:24] Harmony’s pick is mentorship. [00:26:17] Divya’s pick is her two cats. [00:26:56] Yaya’s pick is her cat. [00:27:29] Leon’s pick is his cat, traveling, and dancing. Panelist: Harmony Elendu Guests: Divya Mohan Yaya Xia Leon Nunes Links: CHAOSS CHAOSS Project X CHAOSScast Podcast podcast@chaoss.community CHAOSS Community Slack Harmony Elendu X Divya Mohan LinkedIn Leon Nunes LinkedIn Yaya Xia LinkedIn CHAOSS Asia CHAOSS Asia GitHubSpecial Guest: Divya Mohan.Support CHAOSScast