-

2026-10-23 02:51:58

akareilly@hachyderm.io

For years, it’s been common knowledge among grant writers for open source tech that putting maintenance of existing code in a proposal can tank the whole thing.

Funders, do you hear us now? Are you going to remember this week and let go of the new shiny object fixation?

2026-10-23 03:11:50

aetios who is back in europe

aetios@sns.minovsky.space

@akareilly no

2026-10-23 03:19:13

Kenny

kbruen@procial.tchncs.de

@akareilly@hachyderm.io Spoiler alert: No, they're not

2026-10-23 03:21:59

Mythic Beasts

beasts@social.mythic-beasts.com

@akareilly it is an explicit goal of the Nominet Open Source DNS Fund to cover maintenance and longevity of existing code bases. (note, our director Pete sits is an advisor to the fund) https://nominet.uk/our-impact/nominet-dns-fund-application/

2026-10-23 03:25:54

The Penguin of Evil

etchedpixels@mastodon.social

@akareilly Not always but a lot do.

It's not remotely unique to software. International aid is plagued by rich people and corporates who want to build a new village school but wouldn't dream of paying for an existing one to have more books and teachers.

2026-10-23 04:23:05

Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE

TimWardCam@c.im

@akareilly Isn't this like the public sector grants system, where it's vastly easier to get "project funding" than "core funding"?

It's not so much that funders want something shiny and new, it's more that they want to fund something with a definite timescale, ie end date, rather than something that goes on forever.

2026-10-23 04:26:09

Eli Roberson (he/him)

thatdnaguy@genomic.social

@akareilly my bet? absolutely not.

many people think maintenance (not just code, but replication, database updating, signal refinement etc) is a silly waste of time. until it slaps them in the face. but even when the pillars of the internet are burning, they've got a new response: why do we need to pay for maintenance when "AI can do it?"

2026-10-23 04:33:15

David Wyld

davidwyld@mastodon.green

@akareilly Amen.

There are *some* funders starting to provide software maintenance funding. Notably @SoftwareSaved and there's a *lot* of demand.

2026-10-23 05:04:03

Wren Reilly

akareilly@hachyderm.io

to really blow some minds bring up the fact that software needs to be hosted somewhere.

2026-10-23 05:16:24

hicksy2

hicksy2@mastodon.green

@akareilly doesn't it depends what the grant is for? If it is for Research and Development, then the funder's position is understandable. If you think that more money needs to be sent towards maintenance of existing code, that needs requests to go at senior level in the organisation to refocus priorities. Also consider semantics. Perhaps you could 'repurpose' code instead of maintaining it? Maintenance costs as part of overheads on R&D grants?

2026-10-23 06:30:50

Jess👾

JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange

@akareilly Even in a lot of corps - they'll continually lay off IT staff, but then bring in contractors to build new projects and deploy new magic shiny software/appliance of the day, but then hand it over to IT to support it at the end of the project... Then IT gets hit with more layoffs. Rinse repeat, and nobody seems to understand why all these shiny new projects aren't stable and doing anything.