Welcome to December's newsletter from FOSS United.

This month, we're not sugarcoating things. New research confirms what we've all suspected: open source maintainer burnout isn't a personal failing, it's structural. Low pay, repetitive work, toxic behaviour, and endless responsibility are burning people out. But here's what's different: FOSS United is building the working groups, governance, and community infrastructure to actually fix this.

Here's what happened in 2025, what's threatening the ecosystem, and what we're doing about it.

💜 Highlights from FOSS United

• Governing Board: three working groups on the way

  The November Governing Board meeting focused heavily on how we support the people who make and run things at FOSS United. The Board discussed:

  • A new Tech Working Group that will steer the direction of the FOSS United platform and infrastructure (self-hosted Jitsi, services, access policies, etc.).
  • A Grants Working Group to bring more structure, clarity, and expert input to funding decisions.
  • A DEI Working Group to look at who we endorse and who shows up at FOSS United events – with a focus on geography, accessibility, and representation.

Read in detail here: Notes from November Governing Board

• GCPP Tech+Policy Batch 11 – last call for Early Bird (7 December)

  If you’ve been putting off your application to the GCPP Tech+Policy Course (Batch 11), this is your gentle nudge, scholarship available. A good pick if you want to strengthen your voice in tech-policy discussions.

  GCPP Scholarship!

• Maintainer burnout: research, reflection, and a structural problem

  This month, burnout in open source stopped being “that thing we all vaguely know about” and became something much more concrete: Psychologist Miranda Heath has published a 47-page report on burnout in open source communities, backed by interviews, literature review, and analysis of maintainers’ writing. Miranda Heath research – and a companion blog from Open Source Pledge – argues that burnout is structural, not an individual failing: low or no pay, unglamorous maintenance work, toxic community behaviour, and hyper-responsibility all add up. Open Source Pledge+1

  You can read an opinionated summary a community member has posted on the forum, connecting the findings back to Indian maintainers and our own ecosystem.

• Debian is taking over Navi Mumbai this December!

  MiniDebConf is landing in the city with two days of workshops, packaging marathons, and plenty of hallway wisdom from seasoned Debian folks.

  When: 13–14 DEC
  Where: Remiges Technologies & SIGCE
  Sign up: MiniDeb Conf X FOSS United Mumbai

  If you’ve been meaning to dip your toes into Debian, this is the friendliest pool you’ll find.

• Forklore Continues: Confessions from the Creators 📖

  Here’s who joined the lore last month, projects worth bookmarking, and the maintainers behind them worth knowing:

  • Safedep and Abhisek Datta
  • HOT Tasking Manager and Ramya Ragupathy
  • Raven and Nikhil Kothari
  • Zaturn and Karthik Devan

  Find out what keeps them going, what lessons they have for their younger selves and what files in their repos they’d set on fire. Head to forklore.in now! Know someone who should be on this list? Add to the lore!

December is a moment to reflect: The FOSS ecosystem that powers the internet is under stress. Maintainers are burning out. Platforms are being acquired. But there's also momentum for change. FOSS United is building the community. The question is: what role do YOU want to play in the rebuild?

Thanks for being with us through 2025. See you in the new year, rested, curious, and ready to build.

Have thoughts on the newsletter? Reach out to us at team@fossunited.org

FOSS United. Strengthening the Indian FOSS ecosystem.

"May the FOSS be with you" 🚀