Name: Working in Public
ISBN: 9780578675862

Working in Public

Open source software has undergone significant shift over the past 20 years. Today, often unseen solo operators maintain code used by millions. In Working in Public, Nadia Eghbal takes an inside look at modern open software development and its evolution over the last two decades--and its ramifications for an internet reorienting itself around individual creators. She examines GitHub as a platform; the structures, roles, incentives, and relationships of open source projects; and their heretofore unexplored maintenance, via the work that software requires its creators and the costs of production that must be maintained. Open source offers us a model through which to understand the challenges faced by online creators on all platforms."--Publisher description

What Hacker News says

SequoiaHopeNov 2025

For anyone interested in this (and certainly for OP) I highly highly recommend the book Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software by Nadia Eghbal. When I was raising my profile on my open source farming robot, this book really helped me understand the types of projects one might want to foster, how to think about users, and generally gave me very helpful guidance on becoming an open source maintainer!

Take a look: https://press.stripe.com/working-in-public

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Hooray_DarakianFeb 2025

Give Working in Public by Nadia Eghbal a read as well. Its much more up to date and much more observational on the topic of open source development.

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qchrisSep 2024

She also ended up writing a book called "Working In Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software" that is a read I'd recommend anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of open source software communities.

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/54140556-working-in-p...

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rektideDec 2022

Author of Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software, which is a badass book covering what open source really is in a surpassing depth & reality & context.

Very not a fan of youtube videos but giving this a chance.

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schaeferDec 2021

Would you consider reading the excellent book "Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software" by Nadia Eghbal?

The data behind what "Open Source" projects look like differs from the popular culture narratives and assumptions about what they should look.

I doubt there was justification for disabling your player account. and I'm sorry that happened to you.

But it sounds like your expectations about code contributions, and onboarding new volunteers may have been far from that project's reality.

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bwh2Jun 2021

Read the book Working In Public. A big chunk of that book is diving into the various economic models for OSS, covering pros and cons through real world examples.

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