A Young Developer's Journey in the Erlang Ecosystem

Benjamin Philip, a 16-year-old student, shares his journey from starting as a contributor at the age of 14 to becoming a maintainer within the Erlang ecosystem. Through his work on projects such as Livebook, Hexpm, and Nx, Benjamin describes overcoming challenges like fear of the open-source community and learning to collaborate with other contributors. He delves into key experiences, such as receiving funding from the Erlang Ecosystem Foundation (EEF) to work on package support for Erlang's telemetry implementation. Additionally, he provides insights into balancing contributions with personal priorities and highlights the importance of asking maintainers before working on issues to avoid conflicts. The talk offers valuable lessons for new contributors and maintainers alike on fostering a supportive community environment.