Name: Power Dynamics, Rug Pulls, and Other Corporate Impacts on OSS Sustainability - Dawn Foster, CHAOSS
Start: 2025-08-26T16:20:00+0200
End: 2025-08-26T17:00:00+0200

25-27, August 2025
Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Tuesday August 26, 2025 16:20 - 17:00 CEST

G107

Power imbalances are everywhere, including in our OSS projects, and in today’s cloud native world, the power dynamics have gotten even more complex. We’ve recently seen an increase in relicensing of open source projects and other tensions within communities that are directly related to imbalances in power that cause disruption within our open source projects. The many users, contributors, and even maintainers who have less power can feel like the rug has been pulled out from under them. We have mechanisms, like forks, where those with less power can counter these moves, regardless of the forms they take.

This talk will not only help people understand the power dynamics at play, but it will also provide tangible steps that we can take as maintainers, contributors, and users to make better decisions about focusing our precious time on making our projects more sustainable. There is no way to accurately predict which projects will not be sustained, but this talk will contain suggestions for how to look for warning signs. By attending this talk, you will learn more about the power dynamics and steps that you can take to make better decisions about which OSS projects to embrace.

Speakers

Dawn Foster

Director of Data Science, CHAOSS

Dr. Dawn Foster works as the Director of Data Science for CHAOSS where she is also a board member / maintainer. She is co-chair of CNCF TAG Contributor Strategy and an OpenUK board member. She has 20+ years of experience at companies like VMware and Intel with expertise in community... Read More →

Tuesday August 26, 2025 16:20 - 17:00 CEST
G107

OSPOCon

Audience Experience Level Any

Open Source Summit Europe 2025

Dawn Foster

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