This blog post gives my view on a Conference Talk given by Abigail Cabunoc Mayes at OSSNA 2025.

The Greying of Open Source is a topic I got to hear a lot about after attending OSSNA. It discusses the problem that a lot of maintainers in Open Source are entering the later statges of their years, and may be discontinueing their work soon. While that’s to be expected and perectly normal, the issue that comes with it is that there aren’t enough young, new contributors taking their places. In her talk, Abigail touches on a lot of topics that I agree with: The importance of contributor docs, allowing for ease of access for gen-z by optimizing for the platforms and devices they primarily use, the creation and maintenence of proper contributing docs, codes of conduct, and licensing.

There’s a second portion of her talk which I’ve started advocating before seeing it which is the mentorship of new contributors so they can enter a reliable feedback loop. This also helps with recognition which boosts contribtor retention, and adds a sense of purpose and value to the work these new contributors are doing. Mentoring also provides overall guidence and attributes to the increased ease of access in projects.

I’d also like to focus in on the idea of giving contributors a mission statement. This is something I experience in p5.js, and it’s what lead to me not only wanting to contribute myself, but also encouraging others to contribute and build connecetions with the project.

I’d also like to reflect on my own participation in p5.js. I’ve lately been finding it hard to find time to contribute and stay in touch. I think the one step I missed when joining the community was participating in their communication channels, such as their discord. Even after working with them extensively, I feel as though I’m missing out on really connecting to the people part of the project. That’s something I put on myself rather than the project, but I think it largely impacts how much I prioritize contributing to the project.

The last topic I’ll touch on from the talk is compensation. In my experience a lot of older generations look down on individuals who are money driven. While I agree sometimes it’s taken to an extreme, it’s often becasue the individual needs the money, not just because they eant it. When I seek positions that pay me for my work not only does that relay to me that I’m respected in that community, but it relays to me there aren’t a set of hurdles to jump through for the sake of making things difficult.

When working with people who volunteer their time, it’s always best to lead your thought process with compassion, rather than criticism.