# Maintaining Neutrality Amid Conflicting Roles in Open Source

DevFeed: [Maintaining Neutrality Amid Conflicting Roles in Open Source](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/which-hat-am-i-wearing-right-now-58913.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.cncf.io/blog/2026/09/23/which-hat-am-i-wearing-right-now/>)

Author: Mario Fahlandt, CNCF Ambassador

Published: 2026-09-23T14:47:15Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Cloud Native Computing Foundation](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/cloud-native-computing-foundation.md>)

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

Tags: [blog](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/blog.md>), [company](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/company.md>), [contributors](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/contributors.md>), [employee](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/employee.md>), [meetings](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/meetings.md>), [open-source](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/open-source.md>), [roles](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/roles.md>), [team](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/team.md>)

## AI overview

The article argues that neutrality is essential in open source because many contributors are paid by companies and may hold several roles, such as maintainer, employee representative, or volunteer. It recommends explicitly stating which capacity one is speaking from.

## Source excerpt

Neutrality is quietly the hardest part of open source. It gets tricky the moment someone pays your salary -- and staying honest about it takes more effort than anyone admits. Here's something we don't say out...