Examples of open source community in action

With as much as has been written about turmoil in the WordPress community, I wanted to take a minute to highlight a contributor in the open source space that truly embodies the open source ethos and a community-driven spirit.

Many people who know me know that I have problems with the design of Laravel and I object to things like Active Record and the heavy use of statics and globals. And I know I am not alone in having a philosophical difference with this particular framework. The fact of the matter is, despite my personal feelings, Laravel is extremely popular. It even received a significant funding round, which will be likely good for the project and its community.

I believe that we can have philosophical differences and still be friends. And so does Taylor Otwell.

In the past I have shared this story privately. Today I want to share a story about Taylor’s kindness and generosity with the world. I want to highlight not just his generosity, but his compassion and his willingness to put differences aside in the pursuit of a common goal and the good of others.

When my son Jacob was born in 2016, he was quickly diagnosed with an unknown liver condition. He exhibited jaundice two days after birth that never went away, and his bilirubin (a waste product in the blood that the liver filters out) never went down. In fact, it continued to go up throughout his life.

Taylor and I had known each other a couple years, since I started a massive community argument on Facades in 2014. Some bitter words were exchanged at the time. I probably said things I shouldn’t have. And I think if you asked Taylor he might agree that he did, too. It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t kind.

But when it came to Jacob’s listing for a liver transplant, Taylor didn’t hold a grudge. In fact, Taylor donated $1,000 of his own money, by far the largest individual contribution, to Jacob’s long-term care needs. This was at a time when Laravel wasn’t as big as it is today, when Laravel’s only paid product was Laravel Forge.

Unfortunately Jacob never received his transplant. He passed away on May 14th 2017, which was Mother’s Day. We were able to use many of the funds we had collected to pay for Jacob’s bills and final expenses. Once we exhausted our pile of receipts, the non-profit that collected the money was able to disburse the money to other needy families in a similar situation. I like to think that Taylor’s donation both helped us directly, and also helped others that he didn’t even know.

Since then, Taylor has contributed his personal resources to other fundraisers, including $10,000 to Ryan Weaver’s campaign to fight brain cancer, which raised $291,582. His donation was matched by several individuals, and only exceeded by Fabien Potencier, the founder of Symfony (the framework that Ryan worked in most).

So why am I writing about this, and why am I doing so now?

First, I recently reached out to Taylor on behalf of AspirePress with a question brought to me by one of our developers. Not only did Taylor take the time to comment on the discussion, he also took the time to advise me personally on the issues facing the project. And while this is in no way a quid pro quo, I look at it as a way to highlight Taylor’s generosity and be thankful that I know him.

The other reason I’m sharing this is because I believe that Taylor truly embodies the spirit of community and open source. Yes, Taylor has made considerable wealth from Laravel and the PHP community. And he also gives back, through philanthropy and contributing. And unlike some folks, he doesn’t make announcements about it either. He donates to the causes he cares about, doesn’t contribute to causes just because they benefit him (his contributions to Jacob was tax deductible but the one to Ryan was likely not), and then he goes about his day.

This is how I think community and open source should work. When a need comes up, people meet it, and they do so not because they want the recognition or the praise, but because it’s the right thing to do. Even when they have differences with the person in need. Because in a community we have differences of opinion. But the things that bring us together are far stronger than the differences we may have.

Taylor is a good person. He’s a charitable person. And he deserves to be recognized for his generosity to causes he cares about, including what I am certain are contributions I am unaware that he has made. And Taylor is not the only generous community member: when we started a GoFundMe during the pregnancy, dozens of members of the PHP community donated. Money was tight, expenses were high, and we needed help. The community came through then, too. The community also was largely responsible for the fundraising in Ryan Weaver’s case, as well.

To Taylor I will say again: thank you for your generosity and for highlighting both the good in the open source community AND the generous and selfless use of the dollars you have earned through your hard work. You have most definitely earned your success, but in your sharing you make that success a part of the entire community. This is how open source leaders can show their community their commitment extends beyond code. I’m proud to know Taylor, and I am thankful for his service to our community.

In this way, as members of an open source community, let’s all be a little bit more like Taylor.