Approachable Open Source

A screenshot of approachableopensource.com, opened to the newly available chapter. The Spectrum of Engagement is set behind a full-color-spectrum grid of squares resembling the GitHub contribution graph.

📗 Chapter 2 of Approachable Open Source is now available for free.

🆓 Read at approachableopensource.com/read/the_spe...

✊ And to celebrate sticking it to the man, I am again discounting US fulfillment of available paperback copies. Get them nearly at cost, direct from me!

#opensource #booksky

The Source is with Us | CloudChat.tech A deep dive into the open-source journey of Brian Munzenmayer, discussing community engagement, project maintenance, and the future of open-source software.

cloudchat.tech/2025/01/0017...

Brian Muenzenmeyer on Approachable Open Source Brian talks about his book, Approachable Open Source, emphasizing diverse contributions and inclusive paths in open source.

podcast.sustainoss.org/262

shoptalkshow.com/637/

🎙️ ICYMI: Approachable Open Source has a trio of podcast appearances for your enjoyment.

- 1️⃣ Shop Talk Show with @davatron5000.bsky.social and @chriscoyier.net
- 2️⃣ @sustainoss.bsky.social with @richlitt.bsky.social and @abbycabs.dev
- 3️⃣ CloudChat with Carl Schweitzer and @brandonmartinez.com

Thanks Abby! ICYMI, you can now read the first chapter at approachableopensource.com/read/

Approachable Open Source A new book by Brian Muenzenmeyer, available paperback or digital

🏷️B̵L̵A̵C̵K̵ FRIDAY SALE?
📓 How about an OPEN SOURCE FRIDAY SALE?

$10OFF Approachable Open Source, now through the end of Cyber Monday.

Sale price applied during checkout at approachableopensource.com

#opensource #opensourcefriday #blackfriday #booksale #booksky

It’s a great read if you ever get the chance. So far it’s taught me a lot about meaningful OSS!

Approachable Open Source A new book by Brian Muenzenmeyer, available paperback or digital

If this sounds like something your company or project is struggling with, consider my book a small investment in balancing the ledger.

approachableopensource.com is on sale now

📱$9 - digital
📗$19 - paperback
📦$24 - bundled

Approachable Open Source dives deep into what I call the spectrum of engagement. We need to identify, advocate for, and celebrate the totality of work that makes a project a success. This is work. It takes intention and priority.

A quote from Approachable Open Source that reads, "All along the spectrum of engagement opportunity to work within open source lies. No type of work is of more value than another." At the bottom is the current pricing for the book, 9 dollars digital, 19 dollars paperback, 24 dollars bundled.

Fresh off @nodejs.org #collabsummit, and in talking to folks about the paradoxical importance and scarcity of #opensource #technicalwriting, #informationarchitecture, and #productmanagement ... I keep thinking about what we can do about it.

if i missed anyone, it wasn't intentional - there's just a lot of text to comb through. happy to add any omissions 💚

Spent a few minutes listing out the folks and organizations quoted, cited, or otherwise in-part responsible for making approachableopensource.com a success!

Thank you to each and every one of you.
- Brian

Give these folks a follow if you want a healthy #opensource feed.

go.bsky.app/GpKc8NG

The email receipt from World Central Kitchen after donating $10 for each sale of Approachable Open Source made in the first month. The total reads $586.38, covering the $26.38 fees on $560 donated.

The book launch period for approachableopensource.com is now over. I'm so thankful for everyone who purchased.

Paying it forward is the least I can do in these times. Food is a unifying force in this world, and a basic human right.

#opensource is about more than code. It's community. Make a meal.

This is praise of the highest order. And a responsibility to continue the work.

Essential reading for front-end developers looking to level up as contributors and maintainers. Brian has written the open source manual that maintainers have been waiting for."

This book is a beautiful exploration of humanity in open source, serving as the perfect companion for finding your community in the often intimidating world of open source software.

This is what she shared:

"Approachable Open Source by Brian Muenzenmeyer is a culmination of wisdom earned in the open source trenches.

a quote by Abby Cabunoc Mayes on the back cover of Approachable Open Source by Brian Muenzenmeyer. The quote says, "the open source manual that maintainers have been waiting for." An image of the paperback copy next to an old iphone accompanies the quotation.

I was fortunate to work with @abbycabs.bsky.social as part of writing Approachable Open Source. She was kind enough to write a back cover feature, and be interviewed for the last chapter.

#opensource #booklaunch

A quote from my book, Approachable Open Source. "Open source software is more than a license. Far more than free code. Open source software is code plus community. It’s a vibrancy and a sprawl and a fulcrum and a tool and a burden and a beacon. And it needs you."

My writing, I've learned, is my internal monologue laid bare. I often repeat myself for clarity and emphasis. It's how I like to learn concepts, present ideas, debug software, and make sense of things. My wife often catches me talking to myself.

I worry at times that the cost counters will have the final entry on the ledger, but am always energized by regular folks organizing around things they value.
If you'd like to navigate these waters with me, hazard to buy a copy. I pick up the physical prints next week!

You don't have to look far to see the risks and the rewards. I lament the rug-pull, the doompiece, the vulnerabilities. But I love seeing new funding models, new forks, and new methods. They quiet the chaos of a timeline full of FUD. They ground me in progress, not pessimism.

A quotation from Approachable Open Source that stating: "Oscar Wilde was bullish on open source way back in 1892 when he wrote this dialog for Lady Windermere’s Fan : Cecil Graham: What is a cynic? Lord Darlington: A man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing. We’ll cover the many simple and complex costs associated with this medium. But don’t lose sight of the value too." This text is overlayed atop an image of some of the actors of the first production of Lady Windermere's fan, from the 1892 premiere: left to right, Ben Webster (Cecil Graham), Nutcombe Gould (Lord Darlington), Adolphus Vane-Tempest (Charles Dumby), H. H. Vincent (Lord Augustus Lorton) and George Alexander (Lord Windermere). The quote and picture takes on a bit of a meme-esque format, and is double-great cause it's a bunch of white dudes sitting around talking about shit.

Cost, and value. I write a lot about this within 📗 approachableopensource.com. These two dimensions, always at odds. A matter of perspective, I suggest.

We're at an inflection point—with so much opportunity, and so much at stake. Through it all, we can always do more, together.

#opensource

Approachable Open Source A new book by Brian Muenzenmeyer, available paperback or digital

approachableopensource.com is perfect for

👩‍🎓 Students and 👩‍🏫 Teachers
💻 Maintainers
💼 Enterprise

#opensource #booklaunch

Who's this book for? This book is for the curious, the busy, or the eager technologist that wants to level up their relationship with open source software. That might be you! I promise your talent and perspective, intentionally channeled, is the latent energy many communities need.

Discover the broad connections between you, your team, your company, & your community. Learn how to enable impactful, equitable, & attainable outcomes. Establish a new perspective on your role within the ecosystem. And with a foreword by @bradfrost.bsky.social , you know it'll have plenty of heart.

The paperback copy of Approachable Open Source next to an old iphone sitting on a hardwood desk.

Me looking over a copy of the book, with just my eyes exposed.

A photo of the front and back of the paperback.

🆕 JUST RELEASED: Approachable Open Source

Paperback ($19), digital ($9), or bundled ($24).

Head on over to approachableopensource.com to pick up a copy.

Approachable Open Source is a perennial, full-spectrum primer on the OSS landscape.

#opensource #release #booklaunch #alreadyfoundatypo