Burnout in Open Source: A Structural Problem We Can Fix Together
Mood
calm
Sentiment
neutral
Category
other
Key topics
General
Discussion Activity
Light discussionFirst comment
16m
Peak period
1
Hour 1
Avg / period
1
Based on 1 loaded comments
Key moments
- 01Story posted
Nov 23, 2025 at 9:49 AM EST
17h ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Nov 23, 2025 at 10:05 AM EST
16m after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
1 comments in Hour 1
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Nov 23, 2025 at 10:05 AM EST
16h ago
Step 04
Generating AI Summary...
Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns
If developers had spent a little more time studying sociology, history and government; they could recognize this problem with open source as being common to virtually ALL communal social systems.
The problem --- freeloaders --- aka human nature.
Communal systems typically lack incentive. People benefit whether they contribute or not. Over time, more and more people become content to allow the real zealots carry the load.
This has all been done before and no one has ever managed to sustain such a system over time. A last ditch effort to avoid collapse is often forced labor (aka slavery) --- which some are now proposing for open source.
All totally predictable and somewhat humorous --- but mostly just sad.
Want the full context?
Jump to the original sources
Read the primary article or dive into the live Hacker News thread when you're ready.