[ghelmer]

The barrier to entry for programmers on projects like PostgreSQL and FreeBSD is high, with good and bad results. It seems you have to be very committed to the project (which may involve support from one’s employer) to join and contribute. It requires deep understanding of the codebase and preparedness to deal with fallout when changes inevitably cause problems. That’s good in that the developers are highly invested in building a quality product. But the high barrier to entry makes it difficult to attract new developers, and it is very difficult for those with a passing interest to get fixes and improvements into the codebase.