> Make as much of your code someone else's problem through FOSS. Not all FOSS is created equal. Can you rely on well-established FOSS projects like Linux, Post

> Make as much of your code someone else's problem through FOSS. Not all FOSS is created equal. Can you rely on well-established FOSS projects like Linux, PostgreSQL, and Redis? Absolutely! Should you rely on a random library you found that happened to be the first to name itself after a trendy new thing and only has one active maintainer? Probably not, at least not in any important area of your business. If you do, be prepared to fork it or replace it at some point. I know people reading this are going to say, "Duh, of course I wouldn't do that." Congratulations, you understand the concept of risk management. But I have seen firsthand a number of teams fail this basic test. I have spent far too long trying to chase down a bug in some multiselect dropdown jQuery UI library that hasn't been touched in four years. That doesn't sound like it would be that hard to fix, but if it's spread to every important page in your app and is breaking some key features, you're gonna have a bad time. If you're going to make your code someone else's problem, they'd better be just as invested in it as you are.