The hidden cost of contributing to open source

Open source is supposed to be liberating. You learn in public, collaborate with strangers, and build a reputation that compounds over time. At least, that’s the narrative. But there’s a quieter side that almost nobody talks about. A cost that doesn’t show up in GitHub stats. A cost that lives in your head. The pressure of “build in public” “Build in public” started as a healthy movement. Share your progress. Be transparent. Help others learn. But somewhere along the way, it turned into performan