Open Source Software (OSS) projects rely heavily on the contributions of community members, and understanding the dynamics of contributor roles is crucial for their success and sustainability. This study builds upon prior research by exploring the evolving roles of contributors in OSS projects and their distribution. In this study, we classified contributors into three roles: Long-time Contributor (LTC), Short-time Contributor (STC), and One-time Contributor (OTC). Our analysis of 3,379 contributors associated with 13,926 contributions from GitHub revealed that OTCs form the majority, emphasizing the need for strategies to engage them more sustainably. STCs though fewer in number, exhibit higher activity levels. Despite their rarity, LTCs make substantial contributions. Our results highlight the importance of mechanisms to encourage role transitions and offer insights for project maintainers.
📁 Contributors' project/
├─ 📁 Data/
├─ 📁 Scripts/
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