# The struggles of an open source maintainer

DevFeed: [The struggles of an open source maintainer](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/the-struggles-of-an-open-source-maintainer-20620.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<http://antirez.com/news/129>)

Published: 2019-05-16T17:42:18Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Antirez](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/antirez.md>)

Topics: [Open Source](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/open-source.md>), [Redis](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/redis.md>), [Software](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software.md>)

Tags: [blog-post](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/blog-post.md>), [open-source](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/open-source.md>), [open-source-maintainer](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/open-source-maintainer.md>), [redis](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/redis.md>), [software](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software.md>)

## AI overview

An open source maintainer reflects on the psychological burden of maintaining a project over many years. Using Redis as an example, the article discusses how project popularity can increase communication demands and reduce the time available for careful, focused responses, while acknowledging the joy of open source work.

## Source excerpt

Months ago the maintainer of an OSS project in the sphere of system software, with quite a big and active community, wrote me an email saying that he struggles to continue maintaining his project after so many years, because of how much psychologically taxing such effort is. He was looking for advices from me, I'm not sure to be in the position of giving advices, however I told him I would write a blog post about what I think about the matter. Several weeks passed, and multiple times I started writing such post and stopped, because I didn't had the time to process the ideas for enough time. Now I think I was able to analyze myself to find answers inside my own weakness, struggles, and desire of freedom, that inevitably invades the human minds when they do some task, that also has some negative aspect, for a prolonged amount of time. Maintaining an open source project is also a lot of joy and fun and these latest ten years of my professional life are surely memorable, even if not the absolute best (I had more fun during my startup times after all). However here I'll focus on the negative side; simply make sure you don't get the feeling it is just that, there is also a lot of good in it. Flood effect I don't believe in acting fast, thinking fast, winning the competition on time and stuff like that. I don't like the world of constant lack of focus we live in, because of social networks, chats, emails, and a schedule full of activities. So when I used to receive an email about Redis back in the early times of the project, when I still had plenty of time, I was able to focus on what the author of the message was trying to tell me. Then I could recall the relevant part of Redis we were discussing, and finally reply with my real thoughts, after considering the matter with care. I believe this is how most people should work regardless of what their job is. When a software project reaches the popularity Redis reached, and at the same time once the communications between indi