MIME-Version: 1.0
References: 
 <CAN_SPgpnvhZzUjXJ_u4h7bYT_9=N8RO1AytA7_T--4pScpeU_g@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAKAnmmJPD11WpS-RCbsddhgDrZ2-_61SMjo1vaFtJuUogwTJEw@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAM184Afu+rcc-eVfc4nTMNDcyjAQcopFd4hygU+UZtW70d6xtQ@mail.gmail.com>
 <CA+OCxowxEj2=6PvofPHy_azBsv3p_k8jkB_jaFnRq2Tw6iQv2g@mail.gmail.com>
 <CA+TgmoYC0AesZbVEa+5HKv5LrUaMXwzJVJq=PCEs8vqESN+=hQ@mail.gmail.com>
 <CA+OCxozvGs4dA5hcKkffedBwUVET47OZLiXoztk8ON7e8ap8Jg@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: 
 <CA+OCxozvGs4dA5hcKkffedBwUVET47OZLiXoztk8ON7e8ap8Jg@mail.gmail.com>
From: Robert Haas <robertmhaas@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2025 11:56:55 -0500
Message-ID: 
 <CA+Tgmoa7skap0a42zn=YU3NqGwcGzp-r6G--PdTJNjj-JTtckw@mail.gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Non-Compete Challenges for Community Work
To: Dave Page <dpage@pgadmin.org>
Cc: Umair Shahid <umair.shahid@gmail.com>,
 Greg Sabino Mullane <htamfids@gmail.com>,
	Cornelia Biacsics <cornelia.biacsics@gmail.com>,
 pgsql-advocacy@lists.postgresql.org
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Archived-At: 
 <https://www.postgresql.org/message-id/CA%2BTgmoa7skap0a42zn%3DYU3NqGwcGzp-r6G--PdTJNjj-JTtckw%40mail.gmail.com>
Precedence: bulk

On Mon, Dec 8, 2025 at 9:54=E2=80=AFAM Dave Page <dpage@pgadmin.org> wrote:
> I don't think she's wrong - I just think the issue is much smaller than s=
uggested and that there are likely better places to spend time, effort, and=
 money at the moment (such as, I believe, the average age of our contributo=
rs being on the rise). More and more jurisdictions seem to be banning non-c=
ompetes (or regularly ruling against them) for employees, so it seems to me=
 that the problem is slowly going away anyway.

It's all a bit related, though. Older, more established contributors
are more likely to have leverage that they can use to preserve their
employment options, or the resources to get through a period of
unemployment or under-employment. Younger or less well-established
contributors are more likely to get pushed out of the community by an
adverse event (such as an employer or ex-employer with a good lawyer).

--=20
Robert Haas
EDB: http://www.enterprisedb.com