RE: Ruby Central funding, and a consolidation of power with companies like Shopify. For years now the lead funder of Ruby and Rails initiatives has been Shopify, full stop. They've contributed heavily in both time and money, and through that have left a substantial impact on Ruby and Rails. I appreciate that investment, and all the good that has come out of it so far, as it has allowed Ruby Central to survive over the years when so many others dropped funding. That said, I raised a core concern back then: What if Shopify stops funding? Even if I appreciate its many contributions the fact remains that Shopify exerts tremendous influence on Ruby, for better or worse. Personally I do not think one company should have such influence, but in the absence of other funding sources the community became complacent. In 2023 I had advocated for Ruby Central memberships for this exact reason: dev.to If people wanted more of a stake in Ruby Central they had to invest in it, directly, and that did not happen.
dev.to
So now we have Ruby Central primarily relying on funds from major companies like Shopify, which will naturally color their trajectory and how they respond to incidents. If that's of concern to you then we need to find alternative funding mechanisms to balance that scale. That requires investment, and again that has yet to happen. One can appreciate the investments that Shopify has made while also being worried about the weight of their influence.