https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/11/the-peaceful-transfer-of-power-in-open-source-projects/ Terence Eden. He has a beard and is smiling. Terence Eden's Blog Mastodon. LinkedIn. GitHub. Email. Feed. Theme Switcher: ( ) Dark ( ) Light ( ) eInk ( ) xterm ( ) Drunk ( ) Nude ( )[?][?] Reset 2025-11-19 The Peaceful Transfer of Power in Open Source Projects BDFL mastodon Open Source oss * 5 comments * 600 words * Viewed ~10,696 times --------------------------------------------------------------------- Most of the people who run Open Source projects are mortal. Recent history shows us that they will all eventually die, or get bored, or win the lottery, or get sick, or be conscripted, or lose their mind. If you've ever visited a foreign country's national history museum, I guarantee you've read this little snippet: King Whatshisface was a wise and noble ruler who bought peace and prosperity to all the land. Upon his death, his heirs waged bloody war over rightful succession which plunged the country into a hundred years of hardship. The great selling point of democracy is that it allows for the peaceful transition of power. Most modern democracies have rendered civil war almost unthinkable. Sure, you might not like the guy currently in charge, but there are well established mechanisms to limit their power and kick them out if they misbehave. If they die in office, there's an obvious and understood hierarchy for who follows them. Most Open Source projects start small - just someone in their spare room tinkering for fun. Unexpectedly, they grow into a behemoth which now powers half the world. These mini-empires are fragile. The most popular method of governance is the Benevolent Dictator For Life model. The founder of the project controls everything. But, as I've said before, BDFL only works if the D is genuinely B. Otherwise the FL becomes FML. The last year has seen several BDFLs act like Mad Kings. They become tyrannical despots, lashing out at their own volunteers. They execute takeovers of community projects. They demand fealty and tithes. Like dragons, they become quick to anger when their brittle egos are tested. Spineless courtiers carry out deluded orders while pilfering the coffers. Which is why I am delighted that the Mastodon project has shown a better way to behave. In "The Future is Ours to Build - Together" they describe perfectly how to gracefully and peacefully transfer power. There are no VCs bringing in their MBA-brained lackeys to extract maximum value while leaving a rotting husk. No one is seizing community assets and jealously hoarding them. Opaque financial structures and convoluted agreements are prominent in their absence. Eugen Rochko, the outgoing CEO, has a remarkably honest blog post about the transition. I wouldn't wish success on my worst enemy. He talks plainly about the reality of dealing with the pressure and how he might have been a limiting factor on Mastodon's growth. That's a far step removed from the ego-centric members of The Cult of The Founder with their passionate belief in the Divine Right of Kings. Does your tiny OSS script need a succession plan? Probably not. Do you have several thousand NPM installs per day? It might be worth working out who you can share responsibility with if you are unexpectedly raptured. Do you think that your project is going to last for a thousand years? Build an organisation which won't crumble the moment its founder is arrested for their predatory behaviour on tropical islands. I'm begging project leaders everywhere - please read up on the social contract and the consent of the governed. Or, if reading is too woke, just behave like grown-ups rather than squabbling tweenagers. It is a sad inevitability that, eventually, we will all be nothing but memories. The bugs that we create live after us, the patches are oft interred with our code. Let it be so with all Open Source projects. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Share this post on... * Mastodon * Facebook * LinkedIn * BlueSky * Threads * Reddit * HackerNews * Lobsters * WhatsApp * Telegram 5 thoughts on "The Peaceful Transfer of Power in Open Source Projects" 1. [7540e09a] Sean My 2 cents, if a Dictator becomes too much of a dickhead in FOSS spaces, people will just fork its code and move-on with the project. Reply 2025-11-19 15:24 1. [913a35dc] [] Joshua D. Drake That is generally not true for long established projects. There are some very real "dickheads" in some long standing projects that people continue to contribute to for one simple reason: Too much money involved. Reply 2025-11-19 16:01 2. [32cb6b2d] [] Sumana Harihareswara You might be interested in something I wrote about figuring out the trust part of succession. Reply 2025-11-19 15:55 3. [24c32c87] [] greem (Graeme, not Graham) @Edent See the current... erm, debacle over the Pebble/Rebble/ RePebble succession (or fracture) that's happening right now. It's a great, if slightly modified, version of that which you write about and it isn't going to get fixed without some metaphorical bloodshed. Reply | Reply to original comment on cyberplace.social 2025-11-19 16:06 4. [dfa08aa2] [] Evan Prodromou @Edent however, you didn't make a note on the very unique part of this change, which is that Gargron basically got back wages for his years of work on Mastodon. That's extremely unusual; Open Source developers often only have a chance to maybe someday get a submarket full-time job supporting their project (and usually to add Enterprise features). I hope it represents a change in that direction too. Reply | Reply to original comment on cosocial.ca 2025-11-19 16:10 5. [svg] More comments on Mastodon. What are your reckons? 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