Perhaps let's brainstorm ways to solve this. How can we incentivize joiners to projects? How can we both appreciate the founders and starters, and the later joiners who are necessary for the project? Perhaps if we encourage our own community (tech) to give serious weight and appreciation to all contributors, that will move things in the right direction.

Also, the creators of projects can do their part by sharing the praise their projects receive with their contributors.

What other ideas do folks have to encourage joining rather than starting?

Maybe assigning specific "ownership" (responsibility for, overall credit for) of some portion of the project to long time contributors over time?

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ivanmontillam an hour ago | parent [-]

I'm not sure the issue is getting credit for contributions, or as you suggest: giving ownership of areas of a project. After all, that's a problem already solved: CLAs for open source. With CLAs in place, developers get credited for their efforts (git blames!), as well as part of the IP of their implemented solution if accepted.

My argument goes more about the lines of: Some people want to be the starter of a project, disregarding existing, often advanced efforts about the same problem.

Take for example, the bajillion expenses tracker apps. The most reinvented wheel. Do we need yet another one?

To me, it's an ego-driven thing.

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epicureanideal an hour ago | parent [-]

> Take for example, the bajillion expenses tracker apps. The most reinvented wheel. Do we need yet another one?

Well, small projects being repeated is one thing, but because they're small there's only so much waste there.

I'm thinking more about "cathedral-like" projects, some massive open source project that lasts for years, in which it may be important to emphasize the contributions of, and a particular way of understanding the contributions of the many stonemasons and lesser artisans, as opposed to the leadership of the project and the architects.

Our whole society would benefit I think by having more respect for the "average person that contributes to the common good, even if they're not the leader", and actually praising that as much or more in some cases than the leadership role.

	▲	ivanmontillam 36 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		> I'm thinking more about "cathedral-like" projects, some massive open source project that lasts for years Yes, though it takes a special kind of person to devout themselves to what potentially is a thankless job. At least Linux kernel developers are mostly employees of tech behemoths, so they can contribute while remaining well paid. I wonder about FFMPEG developers, if that's the exception. > Our whole society would benefit I think by having more respect for the "average person that contributes to the common good, even if they're not the leader", and actually praising that as much or more in some cases than the leadership role. I fully agree in the assertion that our society would benefit, but I see that more platonically than the reality. The reality is what happens today, and I don't see that happening (hopefully I'm proven wrong).