While you support others, who supports you? – Adventures in Linux and KDE

The world of free and open source software (FOSS) is full of generous, altruistic people who love to serve society by giving away their labor for free. It’s incredible. These people support so many people by providing the world with high quality free software including in KDEmy FOSS community of choice.

But while they are doing this, who are they supporting? We don’t talk about this much.

A recent one Reddit post by a volunteer developer who is burning out made me think of the subject, and it’s not the first one. Denis Pushkarev from core-js wrote something similar in 2023and we are probably all familiar with this XKCD comic:

The topic is not limited to the FOSS world either; it broadly applies to all volunteer activities. Can’t feed the homeless in a soup kitchen if you’re sick and sneezing in the soup! Can’t drive to the library to teach adult reading classes if your car breaks down.

To support others, you must support yourself! Who can provide that support? Here are a bunch of cases that work:

• Yourself in the present (with a job – related or unrelated to your FOSS job)
• Yourself in the past (retired)
• Your partner in the present (married to a primary or sole income earner)
• Your partner in the past (partner left you a lot of money after death or divorce)
• Your parents in the present (you are their dependent)
• Your parents in the past (born rich or later received a large inheritance)
• the state (disabled, a student or on a similar program)

All these cases work. They provide enough money to live, and you can still work on FOSS!

There are many other good options, but here are some of the bad ones that don’t work:

• Other people through donations: you never get enough donations, and if you put in the fundraising effort needed to make it work, it become your job.
• Future Yourself: if you’re living off loans, you’re screwing up your future!
• Nobody: if you eat up your savings, you will eventually run out of money and be destitute. If you are lucky enough to live in a place where “The State” is an option, it will be at a reduced standard of living.

We always have to answer the question ourselves about how we will be supported as we continue to contribute to the digital community. If you don’t do this for a living, this is a critically important question. Don’t ever let someone guilt trip you into doing volunteer work you don’t have the time or money for! This is a sure path to burnout or worse.

Airplane safety briefings tell people to “put your mask on before helping others.” Why? The same reason we’re talking about here: you can’t support others if you’re not supported yourself. If you try, you will fail, either immediately, or eventually. You yourself must be properly supported before you can be of use to others.