Open source projects face exponential PR backlogs driven by reviewer scarcity and queuing math. The author documents a year-long attempt to land a small feature in Jellyfin Web, noting CPython has 2,200+ open PRs. At 95% maintainer utilization, M/M/1 queuing theory shows wait times spike 19x, creating a "batch size death spiral" where slow reviews incentivize larger PRs that review even slower.
Infrastructure
The exponential curve behind open source backlogs
Queuing math explains the open source crisis: CPython's 2,200+ backlogged PRs exemplify how maintainer saturation at 95% utilization triggers a 19x wait-time spike, creating a vicious cycle where slow reviews force larger PRs that take even longer to merge.
Tuesday, April 14, 2026 12:00 PM UTC2 MIN READSOURCE: Hacker NewsBY sys://pipeline
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infrastructure