Buffer’s no bullshit open source contribution policy
Smaller companies need open source contribution policies too, but those can be radically simple.
Open source contribution policies fascinate me. They’re generally left to management or legal to figure out. Developers rarely know of them. And yet, they shape the way companies practice open source… and thus how they write software
I spoke about creating open source contribution policies that don’t suck at the Open Source Summit in Edinburgh in 2018, with a focus on large companies.
But smaller companies need open source contribution policies too, even if those don’t need to be as complex.
Buffer is an amazing company with a radically transparent culture and philosophy. At Buffer, pretty much everything is public, including revenue and salaries. And of course, Buffer is an open source champion.
But even in such an open environment, contributing to open source didn’t necessarily come naturally. It’s one thing to know you are allowed to contribute, but another thing altogether to figure out how to go about it.
Buffer’s solution to boost open source contributions was to devise a short document that addressed key questions engineers might ask themselves before contributing. It’s short, to the point, and is a great example of a no bullshit open source contribution policy.
Writing a good policy — or adapting an existing open sourced one — isn’t as much work as it seems and can really change the way your company practices open source for the better.
I strongly recommend it.
