Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software

In 'Working in Public,' Nadia Eghbal takes an inside look at modern open source software development, its evolution over the last two decades, and its ramifications for an internet reorienting itself around individual creators. She examines the trajectory of open source projects on the GitHub platform, the structures, roles, incentives, relationships involved, the maintenance required by creators, and the costs of production that endure through an application’s lifetime. Eghbal also scrutinizes the role of platforms that reduce infrastructure and distribution costs for creators, but which increase the scope of interactions with their audience.