Talk is silver, code is gold? Contribution beyond source code in Free/Libre Open Source Software communities

While contributions to the digital commons of Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) communities, such as source code and documentation, have been widely explored, other types of contribution have remained less visible. This paper offers empirical evidence of the perception of “community-oriented” activities as contributions, their lack of visibility in digital collaboration platforms, and their relevance for the sustainability of the community. Additionally, the paper connects this issue to the larger literature on the commons, by drawing on the concept of affective labour. The “code-centric” FLOSS community, Drupal, was used as a case study, triangulating data from participant observation, documentary analysis and qualitative semi-structured interviews obtained following an ethnographic approach.