[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":126},["ShallowReactive",2],{"NoscriptNav_XrRK2e2e8meJ0jKVGkb5ULGQDVi3UiFQ9nupAr7Yns":3,"\u002Fideas\u002Fkeystone-maintainers-keep-the-internet-going\u002F":8},["Island",4],{"key":5,"result":6},"NoscriptNav_XrRK2e2e8meJ0jKVGkb5ULGQDVi3UiFQ9nupAr7Yns",{"head":7},{},{"id":9,"title":10,"authors":11,"body":13,"canonicalUrl":108,"canonicalWebsiteName":109,"category":110,"date":111,"description":112,"extension":113,"featured":114,"fullWidthLayout":114,"image":115,"imageAlt":116,"location":117,"meta":118,"metaImage":119,"navigation":120,"path":121,"seo":122,"stem":123,"venue":124,"venueUrl":124,"__hash__":125},"ideas\u002Fideas\u002Fkeystone-maintainers-keep-the-internet-going.md","Keystone Maintainers Keep the Internet Going",[12],"vlad",{"type":14,"value":15,"toc":104},"minimark",[16,33,36,45,76,91],[17,18,19,20,27,28,32],"p",{},"96% of all companies ",[21,22,26],"a",{"href":23,"rel":24},"https:\u002F\u002Fopensource.org\u002Fblog\u002Fkey-insights-from-the-2025-state-of-open-source-report",[25],"nofollow","depend"," on Open Source software. But the most depended upon software is maintained by\na relatively small number of people. Some have ",[21,29,31],{"href":23,"rel":30},[25],"estimated"," that “80% of downloads are the gift of\n4,000 people”, meaning that a few thousand people maintain a majority of the most depended upon Open Source software\npackages.",[17,34,35],{},"But what should we call these most depended upon packages that keep so much software working, that keep the internet\nworking? And what should we call the maintainers that maintain them?",[17,37,38,39,44],{},"I've seen people say “critical packages” and “critical maintainers”. But brilliant researcher\n",[21,40,43],{"href":41,"rel":42},"https:\u002F\u002Fnadia.xyz\u002F",[25],"Nadia Asparouhova"," has a better name:",[46,47,48,65],"blockquote",{},[17,49,50,51,56,57,61,62,64],{},"In conservation biology, a “",[21,52,55],{"href":53,"rel":54},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FKeystone_species",[25],"keystone species","” is a species of animal with a disproportionately\nlarge effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Similarly, a “keystone contributor” might be a developer\nwho contributes to multiple critical ",[58,59,60],"span",{},"keystone"," projects, is singlehandedly responsible for a ",[58,63,60],{}," project, or\nis generally perceived to be influential and trustworthy. Keystone contributors are critical advocates; empowering\nthem with the resources they need could help improve the system as a whole.",[17,66,67],{},[68,69,70,71],"em",{},"— Nadia Asparouhova, ",[21,72,75],{"href":73,"rel":74},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fordfoundation.org\u002Flearning\u002Flibrary\u002Fresearch-reports\u002Froads-and-bridges-the-unseen-labor-behind-our-digital-infrastructure\u002F",[25],"Roads and Bridges: The Unseen Labor Behind Our Digital Infrastructure",[17,77,78,79,82,83,86,87],{},"So: ",[68,80,81],{},"keystone maintainers"," maintain ",[68,84,85],{},"keystone projects",", and we should support them. ",[58,88],{"className":89},[90],"ender",[17,92,93],{},[58,94,97,98,103],{"className":95},[96],"credit","Image by ",[21,99,102],{"href":100,"rel":101},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irasutoya.com\u002F",[25],"irasutoya",".",{"title":105,"searchDepth":106,"depth":106,"links":107},"",2,[],"https:\u002F\u002Fvlad.website\u002Fkeystone-maintainers-keep-the-internet-going\u002F","vlad.website","philosophy","2025-11-13","“Keystone maintainers” is a good name for the most impactful Open Source maintainers.","md",false,"https:\u002F\u002Fvlad.website\u002Fstatic\u002Firasutoya\u002Fkagu_tobiishi@500px.webp","An illustration of yarn","Edinburgh, Scotland",{},"https:\u002F\u002Fvlad.website\u002Fimages\u002Fopengraph\u002Fkeystone-maintainers-keep-the-internet-going.png",true,"\u002Fideas\u002Fkeystone-maintainers-keep-the-internet-going",{"title":10,"description":112},"ideas\u002Fkeystone-maintainers-keep-the-internet-going",null,"Ih3KAV8pDNfCobrMs51Bbxo22x_wX0frBmpvbrGL_Ks",1780596105097]