Open Source Must Be Fun (Or It Will Die)

Mike McQuaid, Homebrew maintainer for nearly 17 years, argues that the scarcest resource in open source is not money but maintainer motivation — and that fun is what keeps projects alive. Drawing on Homebrew's success (28 active maintainers, low churn), he explains how the project prioritizes maintainer enjoyment through automation, guardrails, annual in-person meetups, and a culture that discourages entitled user behavior. He advises maintainers to stop doing unfun work or quit without guilt, contributors to review AI-generated submissions carefully, users to be grateful and constructive, and companies to sponsor projects and allow employees to contribute. The core thesis: if open source stops being fun, it dies.