Meet Deb Goodkin! Deb is the Executive Director of the FreeBSD Foundation. The Foundation supports the FreeBSD project and community. FreeBSD is a powerful open-source operating system known for its reliability and security and used by companies like Netflix to power their servers and networks.

With a strong background in engineering, Deb is passionate about open-source technology, and after this episode, you might become passionate about it, too! In this episode of the Scrimba podcast, you'll learn how a complex project like FreeBSD works from an organizational standpoint, why open-source is a great place for even newer developers, what are the key differences between community-driven projects and working for a corporation, and where should you start if you're looking to get into open-source.

🔗 Connect with Deb

• 👩‍💼 LinkedIn

⏰ Timestamps

• What is FreeBSD? (01:19 )
• What is the FreeBSD Foundation? (02:49 )
• Open-source projects vs. commercial projects (04:04 )
• Open source is a nourishing place (07:04 )
• Some original BSD developers are still working on the project decades later! (07:46 )
• Open source is a community (09:35 )
• How can contributing to open source help a newer developer advance their career? (11:25 )
• Community break! (14:08 )
• What skills do you need to join an open-source project? (16:23 )
• Start with documentation! (18:42 )
• How do you interact with others working on an open-source project? (21:20 )
• Are people more likely to help others who help themselves? (24:05 )
• Quick-fire questions! (27:26 )
• How does an open-source project like FreeBSD run?
• If you're listening and want to get into open source, do this! (38:13 )

🧰 Resources mentioned

• FreeBSD Foundation
• FreeBSD
• Jon 'maddog' Hall on Linkedin and Twitter
• Kirk McKusick on YouTube
• Michael W Lucas on Mastodon

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