House Rules for VCs Entering the Open Source Community

A No Bull**** Guide On How to Interact with Open Source Communities

Hey VCs, entering open source communities. First of all, welcome to the community! We’re happy to have you here.

We create open source software that is free to use and benefits everyone. We do this in our spare time because it brings us joy and purpose. We hope you feel the same way, too.

Most open source communities share the same principles:

• A project is not a startup.
• A maintainer is not a founder seeking funding.
• Participation is rooted in respect, collaboration, and generosity.

Please take the time to read these values and take them to heart. If they are disregarded, you may accidentally shut yourself out from crucial parts of the community.

1. You Are a Guest

You’re here to listen, learn, and earn your place in the community. Before speaking, take the time to read the documentation, follow the discussions, and understand the community/project culture before you ask for anything. Every community is different.

2. Read the Rules of Conduct in Every Space. Respect the Mods.

Every space has Rules of Conduct. Please read them before participating in chats. Do it right now.

The moderators are volunteers who work hard to make the community inclusive for all. They’ve been doing this for years and don’t get paid enough for it.

So please:

• Read the Rules of Conduct.
• Follow them. (If it says no sales, it means no sales.)
• Respect the mods. They are here to help everyone have a good experience.

3. Contribute First, Invest Later

The most valuable thing you can offer is your time and effort. File a bug report, fix a typo in the docs, or help fix a Github issue. Show us that you’re a builder, not just a buyer. Make your creations accessible to others. Have technical (and respectful) discussions. We are all here to learn and be fascinated by cool things.

Only after you’ve shown you understand the culture, financial contributions may be welcome down the road. But remember, money does not determine influence here.

4. Respect the Maintainers

Maintainers are the stewards of the project (and often the community). They volunteer their time and energy to a vision they believe in.

They are not your employees, and they don’t owe you anything. Approach them with respect. If you have an idea, present it as a suggestion, not a directive.

Don’t spam them with issues, and never use a project function on GitHub for anything other than as described in guidelines. Many of these projects contain guidelines for contribution. Read them.

5. Be Transparent

Authenticity is a non-negotiable part of open source culture. Don’t pretend to be something you’re not.

If you’re here to explore investment opportunities, say so openly. Hiding your intentions is the fastest way to lose trust.

Final Words

The open source community is nothing like anything you’ve seen before. The open source model is not a profitable one. If you’re coming in for sales, you’re barking up the wrong tree, and you’re here for the wrong reasons.

Join us to teach, to learn, and to grow as a coding enthusiast. Take time to truly listen, to learn from others, and to form genuine relationships and friendships.

These are the people that will give you honest life advice when no one else will. They will show you cutting edge tech in its baby stages. This is an area that thrives off mutual respect and discovery necesssary to evolve technology.

And with that, we welcome you with open arms. Are you ready to begin learning about our world?