We’ve all heard the “glass half full or half empty” line. People trot it out to separate optimists from pessimists, as if perspective is some fixed personality trait. But there’s a third way that rarely gets mentioned: The glass is refillable.
Once you acknowledge that, everything changes. Instead of measuring what’s in the glass, you start thinking about what you could add or who else might pour in alongside you. And in many ways, that’s what Joomla, and open source software, has always been about.
Open Source Isn’t About What’s There, It’s About What Could Be
Proprietary software is all about the glass you’re given. You measure it, sigh, and hope it’s enough.
Open source works differently. It hands you a glass and quietly gestures to the tap. If something’s missing, you don’t have to complain because you can add it yourself. Or ask someone else to. Or even pour together. Open source hands you a glass and a bottle (a very big bottle). And usually, there’s a note pinned to the side saying, “Feel free to refill.”
I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve seen someone scratch an itch, fix a bug, or add a tiny feature, and a year later hundreds of people are using it without even knowing who wrote it. That’s the magic of open source and the thing that keeps Joomla alive.
It’s not about the glass being half full or half empty. It’s about noticing it’s refillable, and then doing something about it. Sometimes that means writing code. Sometimes it means translating a string, mentoring a new contributor, or simply showing up at a local Joomla user group and helping someone figure out why their module won’t load.
That’s the mindset that keeps projects alive. It turns frustration into curiosity. It turns limitation into possibility. It turns users into contributors—sometimes without them even realising it.
Joomla Has Always Been About the Small Refills
When people talk about Joomla’s history, they focus on major releases, features or leadership changes. But the real story, the part that keeps the project moving, is much quieter. It’s in the small, steady contributions:
- I remember a translator painstakingly updating a language pack late into the night, because leaving it outdated didn’t feel right.
- I’ve seen volunteers quietly resolve dozens of little issues at Pizza, Bugs & Fun sessions that everyone else thought would linger forever.
- I’ve watched a newcomer ask a “stupid” question in the forums, only to spark a series of improvements that end up with improvements in the user interface and new documentation.
- And developers, sometimes just fixing their own problem, end up contributing code that others rely on.
Most of this never makes headlines. They’re just people noticing the glass is low—and topping it up. Again and again.
Community Is About Refills, Not Measurement
Joomla has never been a project where you sit back and measure what’s in the glass. It’s a project where people notice when the glass is running low and quietly pour in what they can.
Sometimes that’s a big, dramatic feature. More often, it’s small, almost invisible contributions that accumulate into something meaningful. That’s the real heart of open source. That’s the reason the community still thrives after nearly two decades. That’s the quiet, persistent magic of this community.
Half Full? Half Empty? Irrelevant
Whether someone says Joomla is half full or half empty usually tells you more about them than the project. Enthusiasm, nostalgia, frustration, hope. They all play a part.
The refillable metaphor, though, asks a different question:
What can we do to refill the glass?
- Where have we poured in?
- Where can we pour in?
- Where have others kept things going while we weren’t paying attention?
It’s not about complaining or worrying. It’s about noticing and acting on it.
It shifts the focus from “What’s missing?” to “What’s possible?”
The Glass Is Refillable
You don’t have to lead a team, write a huge feature, or organise an event to make a difference. Most contributions are small, quiet, and go unnoticed. That’s exactly what keeps Joomla alive.
So the next time someone asks whether Joomla is half full or half empty, skip the argument. Just remember: The glass is refillable.
It’s being topped up every day by people showing up, in ways big and small. And if you’re ready, it’s your turn to pour.
