Is size just a number?: Reflecting on community growth, mentoring, and where we spend our efforts

Drupal has one of the largest open source communities in the world, with Drupal 8 crediting over 3,000 individual contributors. With this many people involved Drupal can do anything, right? Well, maybe this number isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Let’s discuss challenges we face having such a large community. Are the processes around the Drupal project equipped to handle such a large number of contributors? Do we still experience growing pains? What problems are hidden by that large number, like the limited number high-end contributors and burnout. Does it even make sense to strive for bigger numbers in all aspects of the community?

Let’s also discuss ways we might shift our focus, like supporting smaller, more productive events, one-on-one mentoring programs to help nurture existing contributors, and other ways to make sure we get the most out of our limited volunteer hours and efforts.