When you can’t pay for things the currency of payment is psychic…

Contributing back to the commons in digital preservation hasn’t been for everyone.

We know the famous XKCD that touches on the underappreciated work of maintainers in obscurity. When you, or your institutions, or services are using free and open source software, or other information and data in the commons, and you’re not contributing back, you’re perpetuating this, and what’s more, there’s a virtuous cycle that we’re missing out on.

I read something the other day and it felt like a red flag.

we are about to relaunch a {{public service}} that is enabled by public contributions and provides open source descriptions of things used widely across a community. We are supporting this service with an open discussion forum, but as not everyone is comfortable doing everything on public forums we are also providing two alternative methods…

The post itself offers a potential collaboration and accountability group which I applaud, and we definitely need. But what scares me in 2026 is something i have heard a number of times in the past:

not everyone is comfortable doing everything on public forums

I get it.

Privately I am different. Professionally I also wear a couple of hats, but most will think that professionally I am an exceptionally public person. I am that way and I do wear that hat at times because in my past my work was at risk of being erased if I wasn’t open (frankly, it still is). I also do it because I want to demonstrate that we are stronger together than in our sub-stacks and silos. And I have been on record many times highlighting that digital preservation is too small a field and we need to grow, and we need expand more and more into the humanities, sciences, and other industries.

But I get it. I get that it causes feelings of insecurity, or anxiety. You risk criticism, you risk people forming opinions about you without even meeting you. You risk not knowing what it is people think about your work, or you…

It’s risky, it’s scary, its safer to be private.

In a field as small of this, not being open isn’t a sustainable option. Being open in a small field like digital preservation is to mature professionally and to enable the growth of your colleagues, and the field.

You give something back, but more than that, if you (your organization, of institution) aren’t paying for something, the currency of payment is psychic — the cost of using completely free writing, free ideas, and software is overcoming your fears and engaging on a public level; showing people that you are there; that you benefit from others’ efforts; and that there is value in people continuing to contribute freely.

Ask yourself the following:

What things are paid for in digital preservation?

• The jobs that exist (and even then job mobility, availability, and salaries);
• Organizational memberships (DPC, OPF, SPN, and so on… if you’re lucky);
• Repository and DAM software;
• Institution level IT (Microsoft 360, Application’s software);
• Conferences and conference attendance;
• Some consultation services;
• Training.

Now ask:

What isn’t paid for in digital preservation?

• Contributing to commons resources (Just Solve It, COPTR, PRONOM, etc.);
• 80-99% of the software used in repositories and repository workflows;
• Volunteer efforts (peer-review, conference volunteers).

There are other intangibles we’re not getting too — I don’t mean to show of here, but how I celebrated when I was afforded a FULL COPY of Adobe Acrobat to finally allow me to create and test new PDFs in one of my last roles; oh yes! 🥳 (And no. it wasn’t in any of the government departments I worked for…)

When your efforts are sustained by the commons you have to give something back to the commons

The institution is the primary unit in the paid scenarios above and has been for a long time.

We are always scrimping and saving in our roles, and doing what we can, for example, writing entries for COPTR, or Just Solve It — look at the top contributors on Just Solve It — Jason, and Tyler. They do this because they have this information and it needs to be out there and available to all.

Our efforts in our respective office buildings are sustained by people like these being generous with their time and energies.

Writing and researching file formats is not an inexpensive endeavor. Encoding information in new and novel software and maintaining it is by far one of the most expensive time-sucks out there.

Now, I might be wrong, but take a look at the resources and people and software that you are benefiting from.

How much of this information comes from a source that can be identified as largely open source?

I bet it’s a decent amount.

If it’s not, you can stop reading now (although thank you for your time!) 

If it is — think about your discomfort contributing back to the commons versus those doing the contributing: if your efforts are sustained by the commons you have to find ways to contribute back to the commons.

One step at a time

My hope is that advocacy organizations, while supporting those who find it difficult, continue to promote the importance of being open. Folks like those at the Open Preservation Foundation have previously created videos that help reduce technical barriers. The aforementioned collaborative meetups and accountability groups, which will be held by the DPC, are good forums to build skills and confidence working in the open.

You might also be new to the field. It takes time to learn and develop, You should be allowed to take your time and learn from leaders in the field.

If you have been around longer, then ask what it is that you struggle with.

If you are worried about being doxxed, think about an alias (a nom de plume) you can engage with. I have been @beet_keeper for the longest time and I am sure more people remember him than me.

If you are afraid of the frameworks in which you can work, and worried about reactions you might face, ask your favorite projects to put in place a Code of Conduct.

Create accounts (GitHub’s, Wikis, Mailing Lists, Mastodon) associated with work only. This allows you to separate your personal efforts from work. You can leave engagement behind when you leave the office on a Thursday or Friday evening.

Create email filters for accounts, e.g. setup filters looking for the mail suffixes of the accounts you have signed up to and get your email programs to put them in a new  folder or folders. Engage with them on a schedule that works for you.

You can compartmentalize your work life and begin to get a feel for what is happening in the commons.

If you do much of this already and have other tips, please do share.

What does giving back look like?

I want to be as focused as possible. The trigger for this post was around incident and bug reporting — there are always more bugs — if you find a bug or issue anywhere — let people know!! This is where it begins. The impact of that is multiplicative helping maintainers see that you are there and users to benefit from your find.

• Log bugs and issues with maintainers.
• Provide answers when you see questions you can answer.
• Share knowledge where you have it to contribute and can write a paragraph (or more) about something.

I see so many posts and issues unanswered on GitHub like digipres.org. Finding ways of providing opinion, or providing a +1 to and potential solution is something. GitHub is one service making it easy these days with the availability of up-votes if you don’t want to write publicly.

Beyond that, crediting resources is always important. If your org uses something, reference it in presentations and papers.

People will thank you and appreciate you.

NB. You might be reading this as someone who always does that, but trust me, there are plenty who don’t and then come up to you privately years later to say thanks. A small acknowledgement at the right time on a public forum always makes a bigger difference.

Please give back

Perpetuating discomfort in a field where open source efforts are the backbone of expensive knowledge bases, software, and workflows is simply not an option.

Feedback is good, but contributing yourselves is even better and the feedback loop between contributing and thanking people becomes self-sustaining and nurturing.

Please be uncomfortable for a moment –– let people know that they are not alone by contributing in the open.

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Further reading

Read more of my writing on this theme:

• in a talk I gave at the Vienna Institute for Historical Research in 2019.
• In my talk to the Information Maintainers in 2020.
• In a brief article I wrote for the Victorian Branch of the Australian Society of Archivists in 2017.