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# Are We Looking at The Corporate Takeover of Ruby's Ecosystem?
- URL: https://itsfoss.com/news/corporate-takeover-of-ruby/
- Published: 2025-09-26T13:19:04.000Z
- Updated: 2025-09-26T13:19:04.000Z
- Description: Corporate interests might be reshaping Ruby.
- Author: Sourav Rudra
- Tags: Open Source, News, #Import 2025-11-08 21:15

[Ruby](https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/?ref=itsfoss.com) has long been celebrated for its vibrant, community-driven open source ecosystem. From [Rails](https://rubyonrails.org/?ref=itsfoss.com) revolutionizing web development to [RubyGems](https://rubygems.org/?ref=itsfoss.com) democratizing package management, the language thrives on collaborative governance and volunteer maintainership.

The Ruby community has **built critical infrastructure through decades of unpaid labor**. Projects like Bundler, RubyGems, and countless gems power millions of applications worldwide, maintained by passionate developers.

Unfortunately, [something deeply troubling has transpired](https://joel.drapper.me/p/rubygems-takeover/?ref=itsfoss.com) over recent weeks that has sent ripples through the Ruby community.

## Something Smells Fishy

On September 9, 2025, [HSBT](https://github.com/hsbt?ref=itsfoss.com) (*Hiroshi Shibata*) unilaterally renamed the RubyGems GitHub enterprise to "[Ruby Central](https://rubycentral.org/?ref=itsfoss.com)," added [Marty Haught](https://www.linkedin.com/in/martyhaught/?ref=itsfoss.com) as owner, and stripped all other maintainers of their permissions without consultation or consent.

**When challenged, HSBT refused to reverse these changes**, claiming he needed Haught's permission. On September 15, some changes were rolled back, but Haught remained as owner despite other maintainers never agreeing to his appointment.

September 17 brought a Zoom meeting where Haught discussed "**operational planning**" with maintainers. He explained the distinction between RubyGems source code (*community-owned*) and the RubyGems Service (*operated by Ruby Central*), seemingly understanding the separation.

On September 18, **the final blow landed**. Haught removed all admins from RubyGems and Bundler teams, disabled their email accounts, and revoked ownership of critical gems. Ruby maintainer André Arko was literally on-call when his access vanished.

Ellen Dash (*Puppy/Duckinator*), a decade-long maintainer, [broke the story](https://bsky.app/profile/duckinator.bsky.social/post/3lz6exzgtcc2j?ref=itsfoss.com) on September 19, calling it a "***hostile takeover***" and announcing her resignation.

In response to all this, Ruby Central's [official stand](https://rubycentral.org/news/strengthening-the-stewardship-of-rubygems-and-bundler/?ref=itsfoss.com) framed the takeover as necessary for supply chain security. They cited legal counsel, security audits, and fiduciary duty as justification for seizing control from long-standing community maintainers.

Executive Director Shan Cureton [released a video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyCiE3GjQps&ref=itsfoss.com) claiming sponsors demanded action on security concerns. She insisted the changes were temporary while new operator agreements were finalized, though sources suggest permanent exclusions were planned.

## To New Beginnings?

[Spinel](https://spinel.coop/?ref=itsfoss.com) is a worker-owned collective founded by André Arko, Samuel Giddins, and Kasper Timm Hansen. These guys aren't newcomers but some of the architects behind Ruby's foundational infrastructure.

Their flagship offering is [rv](https://github.com/spinel-coop/rv?ref=itsfoss.com), a tool that aims to replace the fragmented Ruby tooling ecosystem. It promises to handle everything `rvm`, `rbenv`, `chruby`, `bundler`, `rubygems`, and others—all at once while redefining how Ruby development tools should work.

And, just so you know, [André Arko](https://arko.net/?ref=itsfoss.com) maintained Bundler and RubyGems.org infrastructure for over a decade. [Samuel Giddins](https://segiddins.me/?ref=itsfoss.com) led RubyGems security efforts. [Kasper Timm Hansen](https://kaspth.com/?ref=itsfoss.com) served on the Rails core team from 2016 to 2022 and was one of its top contributors.

Spinel **operates on retainer agreements with companies** needing Ruby expertise instead of depending on sponsors who can withdraw support or demand control. This model maintains independence while ensuring sustainability for the maintainers.

If you are looking for **my personal opinion**, then what's happening with Ruby is the standard [embrace, extend, extinguish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,%5Fextend,%5Fand%5Fextinguish?ref=itsfoss.com) approach usually employed by Big Tech. I hope Spinel's offering is able to do things differently while gaining some market share.

**Suggested Read** 📖

[Open Source Infrastructure is Breaking Down Due to Corporate FreeloadingAn unprecedented threat looms over open source.![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/icon/android-chrome-192x192-271.png)It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/thumbnail/openssf-letter-to-big-corporations-1.png)](https://itsfoss.com/open-source-infrastructure-is-breaking-down/)