DrupalCamp Ruhr 2025 in Essen brought together nearly 100 Drupal enthusiasts for sessions, networking, and fun at the Unperfekthaus, celebrating community, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.

Drupal AI brings together human expertise and advanced machine intelligence to help teams create faster and explore new possibilities. Find out what’s new in the Drupal AI world.

The 2025 Ironstar Developer Survey confirms a critical trend in the Drupal ecosystem: younger developers are not entering the community at the rate needed to sustain long-term growth. Of the 753 respondents, only one was under the age of 21. Developers aged 21-29 declined from 59 last year to 44 this year, despite an increase in overall participation. Those with less than one year of experience numbered just 11 globally, with only a single respondent from Asia, a sharp drop in early-career representation.

André Angelantoni stated that "Drupal is struggling to reach younger developers," citing the same findings and pointing to a broader pattern: the aging of the contributor base. While Drupal continues to evolve in areas like AI integration (78% adoption this year, up from 50%), developer tooling (93% of DDEV users would recommend it), and platform usage (Platform.sh is the most recommended PaaS), the lack of incoming junior developers presents a structural challenge.

Despite the gap in new developer entry, Drupal continues to make meaningful progress in areas that matter: AI adoption is up significantly, modern tooling like DDEV is widely embraced, and community-driven improvements to the developer experience are ongoing. To build on this momentum, practical steps should focus on structured onboarding, beginner-friendly documentation, mentorship programs, and targeted outreach through learning platforms and regional events. These efforts can help ensure that Drupal remains accessible, relevant, and supported by a new generation of developers.

INTERVIEW

• “Drupal’s Complexity Is Being Used to Make Things Simpler” — Jorge Tutor on Smart Scaling

DISCOVER DRUPAL

• Seed EM Launches Drup & Drop: Production-Ready Drupal CMS Platform for Faster Digital Implementation

• 23 Essential AI Modules for Content Creation and Authoring in Drupal

• Drupal AI Initiative Webinar Shares Survey Insights, Highlights Community Momentum

• Drupal AI Initiative Calls for Use Cases from Agencies, Developers, and End Users

• Maya Schaeffer to Join Drupal Association Board on November 1, 2025

• Ronald te Brake Releases Surge Tool to Improve AI Integration with Drupal Projects

• Alexander Varwijk Proposes Core Redesign to Bring Async and Modern PHP Support to Drupal

TUTORIALS

• New Way of Writing Hooks in Drupal 11 Explained

• Unmanaged Files in Drupal: When and Why to Use Them (Part 1)

EVENT

• DrupalCon Nara 2025 Splash Awards: Submission Deadline Extended

• Efforts Underway to Revive Drupal Meetups in Bengaluru

• Early Bird Tickets Available for DrupalCamp Italy 2025

ORGANIZATION NEWS

• miniOrange Deepens Drupal Involvement with Local Events, Freelance Support, and Global Sponsorship

• QED42 Highlights Ongoing Contributions to Drupal and Support for DrupalCamp Pune 2025

• Mike Herchel Launches Dripyard, a New Theme Company for Drupal

We acknowledge that there are more stories to share. However, due to selection constraints, we must pause further exploration for now. To get timely updates, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Bluesky, and Facebook. You can also join us on Drupal Slack at #thedroptimes.

Thank you.

Sincerely, 
Kazima Abbas, 
Sub-editor, The DropTimes.

Search is no longer what it used to be. For many years the process was simple. People typed a question into Google, browsed the links that appeared, and clicked the result that looked most promising. Businesses, especially those running Drupal websites, built entire strategies around search engine optimization to capture those clicks and grow their audience.

In this episode, we are joined by special guests Mike Herchel and Andy Giles, founders of Dripyard. Dripyard is a premium Drupal theme designed to reduce the cost of ownership and enhance the developer experience for modern Drupal projects. Mike and Andy share insights into their motivation behind launching Dripyard, the detailed work that goes into creating accessible, high-quality themes, and how their themes will integrate with upcoming Drupal features like Canvas. We also discuss the module of the week, Content First, and a crucial public service announcement about a supply chain attack impacting NPM tools.

For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/520

Topics

• Meet the Guests: Mike Herchel and Andy Giles
• Module of the Week: Content First
• Public Service Announcement: NPM Supply Chain Attack
• Event Spotlight: Bad Camp 2025
• Introducing Dripyard: A New Drupal Theme Company
• The Concept and Vision Behind Dripyard
• The Importance of Accessibility in Themes
• Building Themes for the General Public
• Supporting Drupal CMS and Canvas
• Supporting Custom and Contrib Modules
• Styling Challenges with Webform Module
• Consulting Services for Theme Integration
• Sub-Theming and Customization Options
• Support and Assistance for Non-Developers
• Recipes for Efficient Theme Setup
• Modern CSS and JavaScript Practices
• Target Audience and Market Focus
• Licensing and Open Source Considerations
• Final Thoughts and Contact Information

Module of the Week

with Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu

Content First - The Content First module provides a simple tool for viewing the plain text content of any node without design, media, or layout distractions. It helps content teams, editors, and designers focus on what matters most: the content itself.

Whether you're drafting, reviewing, or rethinking your site’s messaging, this module supports a true “content-first” approach by giving you a clean, layout-free version of your page.

Resources

Dripyard Supply Side Attack - Also this link grep -r --binary-files=text _0x112fa81 to diagnose if you’ve been impacted Should I Use a Carousel?

Guests

Mike Herchel mherchel Andy Giles andyg5000 dripyard.com

Hosts

John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu James Sansbury - tugboatqa.com q0rban

From Job Rejection to Enterprise Kubernetes Platform in 6 Days Image Imagen Article body

TL;DR: After a job rejection for lacking hands-on experience with specific tools, I decided to test my learning approach with Kubernetes. Built an enterprise-grade platform in 17 hours over 6 days using my "black box" learning method. Results included production infrastructure with monitoring, real applications, security patterns, and a community module contribution. The key: focus on solving immediate problems while implementing professional patterns from day one.

 

 

 

 

About a month ago, I was turned down for a role at Confluent. The reason? No hands-on experience with their tools. Fair enough. But it got me thinking about something I've been doing for decades: can I still learn complex technology stacks quickly using my "black box" approach?

 

I decided to find out. I picked Kubernetes - something I'd never practiced before - and gave myself a simple challenge: demonstrate that systematic learning beats months of theoretical study.

 

Six days and 17 hours of focused learning later, I had an enterprise-grade Kubernetes platform running real applications with monitoring. The module contribution came after that, taking additional time to properly research and build. Here's how the black box methodology made it possible.

What Is Black Box Learning?

Instead of trying to master everything at once, I focus only on what solves my immediate problem. I know other parts exist, but I don't let them distract me until I need to "open that box."

 

Think about learning Drupal development. I started with CSS for the longest time because it solved everything I needed. When a more complex problem presented itself, I knew my next step was to open templates. When I needed something more, I knew preprocess functions existed, but I chose not to get distracted by them until needed.

 

Same thing happened at Acquia. I never looked hard at Site Factory until my customer bought it. Then I attended the 2-day seminar and became an internally recognized subject matter expert.

 

The key is strategic focus: know what exists, but only dive deep into what solves your immediate problem. Everything else stays closed until needed.

The 6-Day Learning Journey

Rather than diving into theoretical concepts, I approached each day with a specific problem to solve. The progression shows how systematic learning works in practice.

 

Day 1 (3.5 hours): Foundation and Tool Selection Started by mapping Kubernetes concepts to familiar web hosting architecture. Research with Claude as a partner, followed by basic implementation: kubectl, Kind, simple cluster. Key decision: chose HAProxy for Ingress because friends work there and I knew I could get help. Installed better tools (Helm, Freelens) based on research. Real learning meant real infrastructure, so I reinstalled an old laptop with Ubuntu.

 

Day 2 (3.5 hours): Professional Patterns from Day One Each solved problem revealed what to learn next. Built proper team separation using Kustomize with base configurations plus development/production overlays. No toy examples. Professional deployment patterns with Infrastructure as Code from the start. This is where 30 years of infrastructure experience accelerated learning. I knew the organizational problems even if I didn't know these specific tools.

 

Day 3 (3 hours 40 minutes): Production Infrastructure External access via MetalLB for bare metal LoadBalancer services. Took a detour looking at HAProxy replacement, but discovered commercial licensing requirements. Practical decision-making: chose appropriate tools for the situation. Implemented NFS shared storage for persistent content across multiple pods. Result: production-ready infrastructure with external access.

 

Days 4-6 (9+ hours): Real Applications and Enterprise Monitoring Deployed Drupal 11 with multi-container architecture, external database integration, and proper networking. Here's where black box discipline showed its value: I started planning Kafka integration for user events, then realized I was opening too many boxes at once. Stepped back to build monitoring foundation first (RBAC, Prometheus, Grafana). Enterprise patterns: authentication, security, observability with persistent storage.

 

Key Learning Principles That Emerged:

 

• Professional implementation from day one. No learning with toys, everything built for production use.

•  

• Sequential problem solving. Each solution enabled the next logical challenge.

•  

• Strategic stepping back. Recognize proper sequencing instead of jumping to exciting features.

•  

• Experience acceleration. Map new concepts to existing knowledge (30 years Linux experience).

•  

• Research partnerships. Accelerate implementation without getting stuck in documentation rabbit holes.

The Unexpected Community Contribution

After completing the enterprise platform, I was ready to implement that Kafka integration I'd planned. But when I researched how to send events from Drupal to Kafka, I discovered a problem: there was no integration between ECA (Event-Condition-Action) and Kafka message streaming.

 

I could have worked around it with custom solutions, but that seemed like missing the point. If I needed this, other people probably did too. This is where the black box approach revealed something unexpected: sometimes learning leads to contributing.

 

Using systematic development methodology with Claude, I built the ECA Kafka Integration module. The module bridges ECA with Apache Kafka, enabling automated message publishing based on Drupal events. It essentially turns Drupal into a smart Kafka producer for any site activity.

 

At this point, I considered the exercise complete. The platform was enterprise-ready, and I'd contributed something valuable to the community.

What This Demonstrates for Companies

Time Efficiency: 17 hours total resulted in enterprise platform with monitoring plus community contribution. Companies need people who can build systematically without over-engineering.

 

Rapid Adaptation: The ability to acquire hands-on experience quickly might matter more than existing experience with specific tools. Each solved problem revealed exactly what to learn next, with no wasted time on concepts not yet needed.

 

Professional Standards: Infrastructure as Code, security patterns, team separation from day one. No learning with toy examples - everything built for production use from the start.

 

Problem-Solving Methodology: Systematic building where each solution enabled the next challenge. Black box discipline meant recognizing when to step back and build proper foundations before jumping to exciting features.

 

Community Engagement: Moving from consumer to contributor. Learning led to identifying and filling a genuine gap in the Drupal ecosystem.

The Business Reality

This isn't just about personal learning. It's about what companies actually need: the ability to adapt quickly to new tools without months of study, the capacity to build professional solutions while learning the technology, and the judgment to know when to step back and build proper foundations.

 

The Confluent rejection that started this journey highlighted something important: hands-on experience matters, but the ability to acquire that experience rapidly might matter more.

 

Six days later, I had enterprise Kubernetes experience and had contributed something valuable to the community I care about. The black box approach didn't just help me learn Kubernetes - it led me to make Kubernetes work better with the tools I already knew.

 

Each solved problem reveals exactly what you need to learn next, not what you think you need to learn. No wasted time on concepts you don't need yet. No getting overwhelmed by the scope of what you don't know.

 

Companies need people who build systematically without over-engineering. This systematic approach works for any technology stack.

 

The work isn't finished. There are more black boxes to open, more problems to solve, and more ways to contribute to the communities and technologies that matter.

 

What's your approach to learning complex tech? Do you plan everything upfront, or do you solve problems as you go?

 

 

 

 

The complete Kubernetes learning platform code is available on GitHub, and the ECA Kafka Integration module can be found on Drupal.org.

 

Author Carlos Ospina Abstract After a job rejection for lacking hands-on experience with specific tools, I demonstrated that systematic "black box" learning methodology can produce enterprise-grade results. Built complete Kubernetes platform with monitoring, security, and real applications in 17 hours over 6 days, leading to community contribution. Tags Drupal Drupal Planet Career Development Professional Growth Best practices Devops Development Contribution kubernetes rapid-learning Rating Select ratingGive From Job Rejection to Enterprise Kubernetes Platform in 6 Days 1/5Give From Job Rejection to Enterprise Kubernetes Platform in 6 Days 2/5Give From Job Rejection to Enterprise Kubernetes Platform in 6 Days 3/5Give From Job Rejection to Enterprise Kubernetes Platform in 6 Days 4/5Give From Job Rejection to Enterprise Kubernetes Platform in 6 Days 5/5Cancel rating No votes yet Leave this field blank Add new comment

The Early Bird registration is now open for the largest Drupal event in North America, DrupalCon Chicago 2026, happening March 23–26, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Don’t miss your chance to connect, learn, and celebrate with the global Drupal community.

For a limited time, secure your DrupalCon Chicago registration for just $575—the lowest price available!

Learn more and register now to get your ticket at the lowest price!

Don’t miss your chance to connect, learn, and celebrate with the global Drupal community.

When you buy a conference ticket, you’ll get access to:

• DrupalCon opening reception
• All general conference sessions
• All contribution sessions
• Keynote speakers, access to the Expo Hall, and raffle contest
• Trivia Night
• Lunch and coffee breaks
• Networking and mentorship

View the program at a glance now.

Stay at DrupalCon Chicago 2026 Headquarters

Make the most of your DrupalCon experience by staying at the Hilton Chicago, the official DrupalCon hotel.

DrupalCon is more than just sessions. The real magic happens in hallway track conversations, late-night discussions, and spontaneous coffee meetups. Book the conference hotel to stay close to it all.

Book your room at Hilton Chicago!!

DrupalCon Chicago 2026 Call For Speakers Deadline Approaching Soon

The Drupal Association is dedicated to creating an event that is welcoming and inclusive to everyone. The Call for Speakers for DrupalCon Chicago 2026 submission deadline is almost here!

Submitters may edit their submissions until 26 September 2025, 11:59 pm Central Time.

Submit your session soon!

Drupal 11.1 introduces a modern way to write hooks using PHP attributes, moving beyond the traditional procedural approach. This shift brings autoloading, dependency injection, better testability, and cleaner code organization—making hooks faster, smarter, and easier to maintain. Teade Geertsma of Emble explains how the new system works with practical code examples, covers ordering and backward compatibility, and highlights what remains procedural. A must-read for developers preparing their modules for Drupal’s object-oriented future.

We’re thrilled to introduce Glenn Hilton, one of the newest members elected to the Drupal Association Board, with her term beginning 1 November 2025.

Glenn is the Founder and CEO of ImageX, a Drupal agency that he established in 2001. Over more than two decades of leadership, Glenn has combined creativity with community to guide both his company and his career. His passion for open source and collaboration has made him an active participant in the Drupal community for more than ten years.

Beyond his role as CEO, Glenn is deeply committed to building strong teams and helping people reach their full potential. He believes that lasting success comes from relationships and from creating environments where individuals and communities can thrive.

We are thrilled to have Glenn bring this perspective to the Board. Here are his thoughts as he begins this new chapter:

What are you most excited about when it comes to joining the Drupal Association Board?
I'm excited to help shape the business strategy that ensures the long-term sustainability of the Drupal ecosystem. It is a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between agencies, contributors, and end clients while keeping Drupal both innovative and commercially viable.

What do you hope to accomplish during your time on the board?
I want to strengthen feedback loops with agencies and enterprise users so that we have stronger data to help us better understand and support the needs of those investing in Drupal. I also hope to help expand Drupal’s reach by improving how we communicate its value and create new paths for commercial growth.

What specific skill or perspective do you contribute to the board?
As CEO of a long-standing Drupal agency, I bring a business-first perspective rooted in delivery, growth strategy, and client expectations. With more than 20 years in leadership, I focus on scalable teams, efficient operations, and long-term partnerships.

How has Drupal impacted your life or career?
Drupal changed the trajectory of my agency and gave me a career grounded in purpose, global collaboration, and community. It is more than a platform, it is a values-driven ecosystem where even competitors work together with integrity and a shared mission.

Tell us something that the Drupal community might not know about you.
Outside of work, I am a real estate and architecture enthusiast and probably spend too much time analyzing floor plans. I have four amazing kids, one grandchild, a wonderful wife, and a deep passion for my faith in Jesus Christ.

Share a favorite quote or piece of advice that has inspired you.
“Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.” — Simon Sinek

We look forward to the contributions Glenn will make during her time on the Drupal Association Board. Thank you, Glenn, for sharing your time and expertise with the Drupal community. You can connect with Glenn on LinkedIn.

About the Drupal Association Board of Directors

The Drupal Association Board of Directors comprises 13 members with nine nominated for staggered three-year terms, two elected by Drupal Association members, and one seat is reserved for the Drupal Project Founder, Dries Buytaert. One seat  is reserved for the immediate past chair as a non-voting member. All Board terms start on 1 November of each year.

The Board meets twice in person for weekend retreat and about 5 times virtually each year.   The Board provides strategic guidance to the Drupal Association and oversight of the Association’s management, policy development, management, budget, and fundraising efforts.

How to use HTMX with forms in Drupal 11.3

After a shorter than expected time in the core issue queue the HTMX integration in now usable in Drupal Core, Let's see how we can use it! 

HTMX has a respectable pool of examples to choose from, today we'll focus on forms. How can we make an equivalent of the cascading select HTMX example in Drupal? 

theodore September 13, 2025

CodeLift migrated Cram-A-Lot’s e-commerce site from Drupal 7 with Ubercart to Drupal 10 with Drupal Commerce. The migration included over 100 configurable products, quote request workflows, and related content.

The approach involved replicating the production environment locally, using AI-assisted refactoring to update custom modules, and preserving the existing content architecture and field structures. Automated visual regression testing helped verify consistency across more than 40 screens.

The result is a Drupal 10 Commerce site that mirrors the original design and functionality while running on a modern platform, ensuring continuity for product data, quotes, and order workflows.

Drupal 7 has reached its end of life, which means no further support, security updates, or bug fixes. If new security flaws are discovered in your Drupal 7 instance, they won't be fixed, or if bugs start appearing, there won't be an active community working to resolve them. This builds huge technical debt for any organization. And technicalities aside, organizations must always meet compliance standards, data protection and accessibility regulations.

At the time of writing there are 7,151 reported installs of Drupal AI and adoption is accelerating. Every day, new examples emerge of how Drupal AI helps teams tackle real-world business challenges, optimise content management, streamline workflows, and improve user experiences. Yet, with so many organisations adopting Drupal AI, it can be challenging to uncover every use case.

Your Drupal AI use case could be featured—tell us how you’re innovating

We want to hear from you! If your organisation is using Drupal AI—whether you are a Drupal certified partner, AI Maker, agency, end customer, or an independent consultant—we invite you to share your story. You could be featured in a guest blog post or invited to participate in a webinar, helping others understand the practical applications of AI.

Get in touch to let us know how you are putting Drupal AI to work.

Drupal AI in action: examples from local government and education

Southwark Council, London: is transforming how it brings content online. Their digital estate holds over 2,000 PDFs, most designed for print rather than web consumption. A new AI PDF Importer, developed for the LocalGov Drupal, is helping convert these static documents into accessible, structured, and user-friendly web content. By integrating AI-powered automation, the project addresses pagination, heading hierarchies, image extraction, and link mapping, reducing a process that previously took hours to just seconds, and making vital information more accessible for residents.

University of Edinburgh, Scotland: has developed an AI tool, created during an internship, integrated into its Drupal-based content management system, EdWeb. Leveraging Drupal AI and a new “AI Agents” framework, the tool allows content editors to interact with specialised AI agents, such as a style guide agent and a site maintenance agent. These agents access trusted university resources, including the editorial style guide and acronym database, to provide context-aware guidance and support for publishers.

Artevelde University of Applied Sciences, Ghent, Belgium: is advancing knowledge on AI-assisted development through student contributions. Witze Van der Straeten has published a tutorial on converting Figma designs into Drupal components, illustrating how Drupal AI can significantly accelerate the process of turning designs into functional solutions.

These examples demonstrate the broad range of applications for Drupal AI, from local government to higher education and the wider ICT community, showing how AI can make content management smarter and more efficient. Of course Drupal AI has many other applications and we want to hear yours!

Share your Drupal AI achievements and help others learn

We want to showcase how organisations are using Drupal AI, whether in research, pilot, beta, or full production. Share your experience and you could be featured in a blog or invited to a webinar, helping others understand the practical impact of AI with Drupal.

Contact us to tell your story.

Explore 23 AI-powered Drupal modules that transform how you create, edit, and manage content. From intelligent page builders to real-time collaboration and automated media handling, this curated list by The DropTimes highlights the tools driving the future of content in Drupal.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming part of everything we do at Tag1, from performance testing to content workflows, as we continue to prove its value inside our own operations first. This post launches our AI content series, sharing how we’re applying AI in practice, what we’re learning along the way, and the principles guiding us to deliver business value without the hype.

Jeremy Thu, 09/11/2025 - 14:05

Varbase is our flagship solution, an enterprise-ready Drupal distribution that provides a strong foundation for any digital project. And like any other software, having regular updates and smart workflows in place will help the software realize its full potential. In this post, we'll cover: Latest Varbase features and release highlights Best practices for long-term longevity and security Recommended maintenance checklist you can adopt today   What’s New in Varbase Varbase 10.0.x and beyond bring major improvements, smart defaults, modern tools, and optional AI integration. Feature highlights:

Varbase is our flagship solution, an enterprise-ready Drupal distribution that provides a strong foundation for any digital project. And like any other software, having regular updates and smart workflows in place will help the software realize its full potential. In this post, we'll cover: Latest Varbase features and release highlights Best practices for long-term longevity and security Recommended maintenance checklist you can adopt today   What’s New in Varbase Varbase 10.0.x and beyond bring major improvements, smart defaults, modern tools, and optional AI integration. Feature highlights:

Unmanaged files in Drupal? Yes, there's a time and place. In this practical tutorial, veteran developer Jeff Greenberg walks through a real-world use case where skipping Drupal's file management system results in a cleaner, faster solution. Learn how to structure, access, and display hundreds of images without cluttering your database—or your sanity.

Join John and Steve as they delve into the intricacies and challenges of maintaining Drupal modules, comparing experiences with WordPress, and sharing their journey in making web development more accessible. They discuss their personal stories, the learning curve in module development, balancing user experience, and the importance of contributing back to the community. Learn about their current projects, thoughts on AI's role in accessibility, and get inspired by their dedication to improving the web for all users.

For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/cafe010

Topics

• Drupal Beginnings: Personal Stories
• Journey into Module Development
• Accessibility in Web Development
• Navigating the Learning Curve in Development
• The Importance of Community and Collaboration
• Challenges in Module Maintenance
• Comparing Drupal and WordPress
• Innovative Approaches to Development
• Pet Peeves and Frustrations
• Future Directions and AI Integration
• The Story Behind the Shovel Avatar

Steve Wirt

Being a Developer and Tech Lead at CivicActions has exposed him to the experience of working on some of the largest government websites in the United States. A passion for opensourcing as much as possible has lead him to develop a growing number of modules, with two addressing accessibility Alt Text Validation & Node Link Report)

John Jameson

As the Digital Accessibility Developer at Princeton University, John has come to believe that the biggest barrier to accessible content is the idea that training can compensate for unintuitive authoring interfaces. So far his work to fix the authoring interfaces, to make workflows intuitive and accessible by default, has resulted in the Editoria11y Accessibility Checker and Link Purpose Icons JS libraries and Drupal modules.

Guests

Steve Wirt - swirt John Jameson - itmaybejj

Resources

Modules

• Editoria11y Accessibility Checker https://www.drupal.org/project/editoria11y
• Link Purpose Icons https://www.drupal.org/project/linkpurpose
• Alt Text Validation https://www.drupal.org/project/alt_text_validation
• Node Link Report https://www.drupal.org/project/node_link_report

Talking Drupal #490 Contrib First https://talkingdrupal.com/490 Contrib First https://guidebook.civicactions.com/en/latest/common-practices-tools/contribution/contrib-first/

Jorge Tutor, CIO and co-founder of Metadrop, shares what he’s learned from two decades of building digital products, leading teams, and bridging the gap between business goals and technical execution. In this candid conversation, he explains why clarity—not code—is often the deciding factor in whether a project succeeds or stalls, and how systems thinking, coaching, and open source all play a role in getting it right.