Suppose someone has the requisite knowledge and skillset to contribute to a FOSS project, they have the free time to do so and they are aware of the project. Yet, they decide not to contribute. This appears to be quite common, the proportion of people who choose to contribute is a tiny minority of those who know the project and can.

What are the biggest factors driving this?

Notes:

• I am asking about people who could contribute, and just don't want to. For example, if someone knows the language and tech of the project, but has an exhausting day job and needs to spend a lot of time with family, I would consider them out of scope for this because they're not actually able (they have the skills, but not the time or energy).
• I am asking about major trends, because I want to understand the main reasons for why people don't contribute more. If you're aware of any kind of research or statistics that are relevant, you are very welcome to share it.
• Ideally the answer should be about the population of potential FOSS contributors as a whole, not personal anecdote. If you feel a personal anecdote is nevertheless germane, it would be great to include your logic on why you feel the anecdote has generality. That said, I'm not strictly opposed to purely anecdotal answers (in fact I'd be happy to hear some perspectives) - especially until we get a more general answer.
• The ideal answer would focus on facts rather than speculation. I am not asking "what could possibly cause people to not contribute". I am asking what actually causes it in reality.
• This is subtly different from What is a reasonable minimum for making a FOSS project inviting to contributors?. I am asking for main reasons why people don't contribute, regardless of whether they are practical for the maintainers to address.

posted 8 months ago

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8mo ago

matthewsnyder‭

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