Comment by aequitas

> Are there any mechanisms for limiting how much of one's life an author signs away to their project (without feeling compelled to grow an operation) while still retaining an Open Source designation?

You don't have to do anything to keep it open source. The source is already open, others can use it, fork it, etc. There is no formal obligation for you as maintainer. However as a maintainer you can feel a moral obligation for whatever reason (pride, guilt, peer pressure, etc).