In September 2023, Lodash made headlines in the open-source world, not for a new feature, but for closing every open GitHub issue and pull request. They called it "issue bankruptcy."
For developers who relied on Lodash's utilities like merge, debounce, isEqual, or isArray, it was a jarring moment. Hundreds of bug reports, feature requests, and contributions vanished from the tracker overnight.
But the move wasn’t a rage quit. It was a reset. Lodash’s lead maintainer, John-David Dalton, had been away for years, and the backlog had grown beyond what one person could manage. So they wiped the slate clean and focused on rebuilding from scratch for v5.
It was honest. It was human. And it highlighted a quiet truth: maintainers are often drowning.
What Happened#
Lodash had over 600 open issues and PRs by late 2023. Many of them were outdated, duplicated, or tied to code that was about to be rewritten for Lodash v5.
After years of little activity, the repo was showing its age. The last release was in 2021. Questions kept pouring in. Duplicates multiplied. The signal-to-noise ratio dropped. Eventually, the only path forward was a clean break.
So in one coordinated move, Lodash closed every issue and pull request. Maintainers tagged them with a note about the upcoming v5 rewrite. And they encouraged users to resubmit anything still relevant once the new version shipped.
This GitHub issue (#5719) shows the start of the clean-up, and discussions followed across social platforms, including this tweet by Daniel Roe, lodash’s maintainer, that triggered broad awareness.
It was a drastic move, but not an unreasonable one. And it sparked a much-needed conversation.
Why Did It Happen?#
In Roe's follow-up thread and GitHub discussions, the reason was clear: Dalton had burned out. He stepped away for several years. By the time he returned, the backlog was too large to reasonably triage. In his own words:
(source: https://go.dosu.dev/lodash-comm)
This situation isn’t unique. A 2023 Tidelift survey found that 60% of maintainers have considered quitting their project due to burnout or overload. And it’s often the most widely used projects, like Lodash, that bear the brunt of that imbalance.
Popular dependencies like lodash.merge, lodash.isEqual, or lodash.debounce generate a tidal wave of user requests. But the number of maintainers? Often one. Maybe two.
What If They Had Help?#
What if the Lodash maintainers had a tool that:
- Auto-labeled incoming issues by topic and type (bug, question, feature, etc)
- Flagged duplicates and linked to canonical threads
- Replied to common usage questions instantly
- Suggested answers based on the docs or existing issues
- Nudged stale threads for more info (or closed them if abandoned)
That’s exactly what Dosu does.
How Dosu Could’ve Helped#
1. Preventing Duplicate Clutter#
When a function like _.merge doesn’t behave as expected on arrays, users open new issues. Again and again.
Dosu would have seen those patterns and flagged duplicates. It would have routed users to existing conversations, avoiding 20 open issues that asked the same thing.
Result: A cleaner issue tracker and less frustration for maintainers and contributors alike.
2. Auto-Answering Repetitive Questions#
“Lodash median value of array (#4762)"
“_.debounce doesn't work in React Native(#4818)”
These are common questions. Most of them are covered in Lodash’s docs or closed issues. Dosu can surface those answers automatically, replying as soon as the issue is filed.
It doesn't just respond faster than a maintainer, it also reduces the number of open issues entirely, by resolving them up front.
3. Labeling for Triage#
Many Lodash issues didn’t need code changes. Some were questions. Others were feature requests. A few were real bugs.
Dosu labels each one accordingly. That gives maintainers a triage-ready view of what matters most, instead of scrolling through an unstructured wall of tickets.
For Lodash, that could’ve meant:
- Prioritizing critical bugs in
isEqualormerge - Deferring wishlist features
- Ignoring and properly tagging already-answered questions as duplicates
And it all happens automatically.
4. Keeping Issues Fresh (Or Closing Them Gracefully)#
Instead of letting issues rot for 3+ years, Dosu can ping the original author:
“Hey, we haven’t heard back in a while. Is this still a problem in the latest version?”
If not, it can close the issue gently, with a reference link, a thank-you, or a nudge to re-open if needed. No burnout required.
5. Maintainer Morale#
The hidden cost of an overflowing issue tracker is psychological. When you log in and see 500+ open issues, motivation dies.
Dosu doesn’t just sort issues. It protects your energy. Maintainers can focus on improving the library instead of clearing support tickets.
What Other Projects Can Learn#
Lodash is a foundational library. It’s used in millions of projects. If even Lodash reached a point where “burn it all down” felt like the only option, imagine what smaller projects go through.
Manual issue triage doesn’t scale. Especially not when your users outnumber your maintainers 10,000 to 1.
With tools like Dosu, you don’t need to choose between total burnout and total shutdown.
You get:
- Lower issue volume
- Higher response quality
- Happier maintainers
- More useful dashboards
And fewer "we're closing everything" moments.
What to Read Next#
If this post resonated, you might also like:
- Open-Source Labeling: Best Practices
- How to Keep Docs Accurate Without the Busy Work
- 7 Data‑Driven Checks to Ensure Your Documentation ROI Is High
Each dives deeper into how Dosu automates the work that keeps your project healthy.
Final Thoughts#
Lodash didn’t fail. It evolved.
But it also gave us a glimpse into the fragility of open source maintenance at scale.
If we want to keep our favorite tools alive and healthy, we need better systems to support the people behind them.
Dosu is one of those systems. If you're maintaining an open-source repo, check out how Dosu integrates with GitHub or get started here before your backlog hits critical mass.