Almost every company today uses open source software to do business (whether they know it or not). Almost every company isn’t using open source software as effectively as they could. Learn from GitHub’s Mike McQuaid about how to use open source software in your organisation without succumbing to the most common of pitfalls.

1. How To Not Fail At Using
Open Source Software
In Your Organisation
🤔 😭 😎
@MikeMcQuaid

2. Mike McQuaid
Maintainer (2009-18)
twitter.com/MikeMcQuaid

3. Mike McQuaid
Senior Engineer (2013-18)
github.com/MikeMcQuaid

4. 🤔 why OSS
😭 how to fail
😎 how to win

5. why OSS
🤔

6. “proprietary software
costs 💵 and
OSS is 🆓!”
why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid

7. proprietary software
purchase costs: 💵
support costs: 💵
training costs: 💵
why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid

8. open source software
purchase costs: 🆓
support costs: 💵
training costs: 💵
why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid

9. “Desktop Linux is only free if
your time is worth nothing”
someone on the internet
(not me 🐧)
why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid

10. “proprietary software
costs 💵 and
OSS is 🆓!”
'
why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid

11. “the community will
help us and 🛠 all our
problems for 🆓!”
why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid

12. why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid

13. why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid
https://guides.rubyonrails.org/contributing_to_ruby_on_rails.html

14. why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid
“Then, don't get your hopes up! Unless you have a “Code
Red, Mission Critical, the World is Coming to an End” kind
of bug, you're creating this issue report in the hope that
others with the same problem will be able to collaborate
with you on solving it. Do not expect that the issue report
will automatically see any activity or that others will jump
to fix it. Creating an issue like this is mostly to help yourself
start on the path of fixing the problem and for others to
confirm it with an “I’m having this problem too” comment.”
📚 Ruby on Rails Guides

15. “the community will
help us and 🛠 all our
problems for 🆓!”
🤨
why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid

16. “everyone else
uses open source
software now”
why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid

17. who uses open source:
🐧 “Linux on the desktop” people
☁ “Linux on the server” people
🏢 small companies who like open source
🏙 big companies who like open source
🎮 Microsoft
🌍 everyone
why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid

18. what open source everyone uses:
🐧 servers, services (Linux, Apache)
0 server applications (WordPress)
💡developer libraries (SQLite)
🛠 developer tools (Git)
🆚 everything (.NET, VS Code)
why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid

19. “everyone else
uses open source
software now”
3
why OSS 🤔 @MikeMcQuaid

20. how to fail
😭

21. “let’s just and
edit this
for now”
how to fail 😭 @MikeMcQuaid

22. “let’s just and
edit this
forever”
how to fail 😭 @MikeMcQuaid

23. “security updates
might
cause 🐛”
how to fail 😭 @MikeMcQuaid

24. “getting hacked
might
cause 🐛”
how to fail 😭 @MikeMcQuaid

25. how many libraries
you use are
🚨
right now?
how to fail 😭 @MikeMcQuaid

26. “this issue is
stopping me
doing my 0!”
how to fail 😭 @MikeMcQuaid

27. how to fail 😭 @MikeMcQuaid

28. how to fail 😭 @MikeMcQuaid

29. how to fail 😭 @MikeMcQuaid

30. “let’s open source this so
people will make it 3
for 🆓!”
how to fail 😭 @MikeMcQuaid

31. “let’s open source this so
people will make it 3
if it’s already 3 and we
help them!”
how to fail 😭 @MikeMcQuaid

32. how to fail 😭 @MikeMcQuaid
users
contributors
maintainers
6
📣
🛠

33. how to fail 😭 @MikeMcQuaid
>1,000,000
users
>7,000
contributors
10
maintainers
6
📣
🛠

34. how to win
😎

35. everything
should be
upstream
🏞
how to win 😎 @MikeMcQuaid

36. everything
should be
someone else’s
problem 🙅
how to win 😎 @MikeMcQuaid

37. forking without failing:
fork
: test
💁 submit pull request
📇 address comments, get merged
🆕 update to latest version (often)
how to win 😎 @MikeMcQuaid

38. help others
help you by
helping yourself
☝
how to win 😎 @MikeMcQuaid

39. how to help yourself:
📖 read the documentation
🔍 minimally reproducible issues
👀 look at the code
🛠 try to fix the code
💁 submit the fix as a pull request
how to win 😎 @MikeMcQuaid

40. how to get a good reaction:
☀ have reasonable expectations
⏱ prioritise maintainers’ time
👌 defer to maintainers
🤲 help others where you can
how to win 😎 @MikeMcQuaid

41. how to win 😎 @MikeMcQuaid
https://opensource.guide

42. 🤔 why use OSS
' it doesn’t cost money
🤨 others will help for free
3 everyone does it now
@MikeMcQuaid

43. 😭 how to fail at OSS
🏚 old forks and libraries
😫 be whiny and entitled
🆓 expecting free labour
@MikeMcQuaid

44. 😎 how to win at OSS
🏞 upstream everything
🙋 help yourself
☀ be a nice, kind human
@MikeMcQuaid

45. Mike McQuaid
mike@mikemcquaid.com
twitter.com/MikeMcQuaid