The ReadME Project: A look back at the community stories that shape us

Open source software is only as strong as it is today because of the millions of developers from around the world who are making it better every day. The collaboration it promotes has allowed us to truly test the limits of what’s possible with technology. With a community of 65M+ developers, it’s impossible to keep up with all the groundbreaking work happening, projects being continuously improved, and barriers being broken down. So in August of 2020, we started highlighting stories that showcase how developers, maintainers, and organizations are moving humanity forward through The ReadME Project.

Through these stories you, the community, have shown the best of who we are and what we can all strive to be. We’ve learned, been inspired, and completely superfanned-out. Here are just a few highlights that have stuck in our minds this past year.

• Being underestimated can be an incredibly powerful tool. How Limor Fried built Adafruit Industries and became the first female engineer on the cover of Wired magazine.
• When the world around you shifts, you are not powerless. Sonia John shared how she bootstrapped herself into coding after hyperinflation hit South Sudan—and is now a blockchain developer and decentralized web advocate.
• That sometimes a leap of faith is what you need. How Henry Zhu took a chance and made the move from a steady job into a full-time maintainer of Babel.
• Accessibility to tools and education shouldn’t be a barrier. Ada Nduka Oyom showed us how She Code Africa gives women the tools to thrive as developers.
• What the community can accomplish together can literally take us beyond this world. Nearly 12,000 developers woke up one day to find their contributions powered NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter.

Stay connected to all the inspiring and informative articles celebrating the open source community now—and never miss another one by signing up for The ReadME Project newsletter.

We’re always looking for feedback and ideas! Please continue to nominate developers, story ideas, and topics you’d like to learn more about here.

Written by

Robb Mapp

@robbmapp