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Why we never thank open source maintainers

windsooon.github.io

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Re: Why we never thank open source maintainers

#51

Post by jb55 »

wolfgke wrote: post #20
SadWebDeveloper wrote: post #12

I think maintainers would definitely love more some monetary support rather than just a thank you, specially those doing it in their free time (since some maintainers of big open source projects are well established paid employees).

The problem is that it is hard to transfer money over the internet. I just wanted to know what bureaucratic hurdles one has to jump in Germany to even be able to receive donations on your webpage. I don't want to go into the gory details, but just come with something that I say for years very often: The surest way to become a terrorist very fast is to read up into law. And this is only for being legally able to recei…

> Yes, of course one could use some fancy cryptocurrency

I paid a bug bounty to someone in Germany from Canada with Bitcoin. I guess I'm a terrorist now.

Re: Why we never thank open source maintainers

#52

Post by louthy »

As a maintainer of a relatively successful open source project [1], I find I get a lot of thanks. Yes, it usually comes attached to an issue or a question, but there's not really an easier avenue to just say "thanks" either. So it doesn't bother me too much.

The thank you that comes attached to issues does make me more inclined to help quicker, because I just feel the person is being polite and respectful of the effort.

[1] https://github.com/louthy/language-ext

Re: Why we never thank open source maintainers

#53

Post by giancarlostoro »

naturalgradient wrote: post #5

As the maintainer of a reasonably popular library, I actually get irritated by a lot of 'thanks', because they are in the form of this sentence: 'Hi, can you implement ? Thanks!' Usually from people who have never contributed anything. Honestly, being thanked in any shape or form does nothing for me, Id rather have users be more considerate of our time and not abuse issues and the community for supporting their lazin…

I usually ask "how do I best do xyz with this library?" If I cannot find a good answer elsewhere online. Usually the developers answer and I am able to use their commentary to solve my problem. I know for one thing my answer will be public after I ask so at least it will become part of the selfdocumentation that arises from both stack overflow and issue systems.

Worse case they have to add something and put my request in some sort of backlog. I always say thanks when I ask someone for help though. But I never flat out ask for new features because for all I know they already have a defined way of solving the problem I have.

Re: Why we never thank open source maintainers

#54

Post by zenlikethat »

dictum wrote: post #27
wolfgke wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 'Hi, can you implement ? Thanks!' Answer with an estimate based on your hourly rate.

Honestly, this exudes arrogance, even if the intention is completely free of ill will. It's better to say a clear NO ("I will not add this feature" or "I cannot implement this at this time"), and let them figure if they want to pay/use something else on their own, than to talk down to users.

Asking users to pay you isn't talking down to them. It's what sensible businesses do. If I walk into McDonald's and say "Hey give me a cheeseburger" it's not rude for them to ask for the $0.99 in exchange.

Re: Why we never thank open source maintainers

#56

Post by zenlikethat »

StavrosK wrote: post #50
notzorbo3 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats the fee for my part-time freelance consulting. 200 is on the low end.

Huh, I'm way undercharging.

Common mistake -- you might want to look into Patrick McKenzie's material about consulting. Some clients you'll even be able to say "I'm raising rates" and just start getting more money for the same work without issue.

Re: Why we never thank open source maintainers

#57

Post by bnastic »

It’s such an unfortunate word to use, “maintainer”... Sounds like a thing that had reached its full potential long ago and the “maintainer” is there to keep it on the road in one piece, for a while yet. It’ll never get better, it’s only ever downhill from there.

(Admittedly, that does describe a certain %age of open source projects).

Re: Why we never thank open source maintainers

#58

Post by StavrosK »

zenlikethat wrote: post #56
StavrosK wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh, I'm way undercharging.

Common mistake -- you might want to look into Patrick McKenzie's material about consulting. Some clients you'll even be able to say "I'm raising rates" and just start getting more money for the same work without issue.

I doubt it's going to be that easy, because some clients already balk at the current rates. It greatly depends on your niche, that's why I asked the GP what he was consulting on.

Re: Why we never thank open source maintainers

#59

Post by forkerenok »

_pmf_ wrote: post #39
zimbatm wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah this is painful. Why do some users feel so entitled? The hard part is not to feel bullied into doing work for free and not to react in a snarky way. The best remedy I find is to know exactly where I stand. Is it something I am interested to work on? maybe, if enough users show interest. Or maybe not. And then communicate clearly to set the expectations. Want this feature? Sure, either do it yourself or hire some…

> Why do some users feel so entitled? As a user, I have no longer a way of knowing whether an "open source" project's main developers are doing stuff in their free time or on company time. So, I don't see anything wrong with asking for features. Asking for features is how software evelves, whether closed source or open source. If you have a problem with it, put a disclaimer "unmaintained" in the README.md (because no…

I think the GP meant that some users feel so entitled that they are not even trying to ask nicely. The attitude.

He didn't discard the notion of non-paying users asking for features at all.

Edit: typo

Re: Why we never thank open source maintainers

#60

Post by dictum »

zenlikethat wrote: post #54
dictum wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, this exudes arrogance, even if the intention is completely free of ill will. It's better to say a clear NO ("I will not add this feature" or "I cannot implement this at this time"), and let them figure if they want to pay/use something else on their own, than to talk down to users.

Asking users to pay you isn't talking down to them. It's what sensible businesses do. If I walk into McDonald's and say "Hey give me a cheeseburger" it's not rude for them to ask for the $0.99 in exchange.

I'm not against offering to work on the problem in exchange for money. I'm against outright responding to a feature request with an estimate.

If you don't want to work on the feature (i.e. you're uninterested), it's better to be honest about it.

If you do want to work on it, but your time would be better spent on anything else, and you're willing to work on it for money, first ask if the requester is interested in paying for it and then give your estimate.

The difference between a feature request and a client approaching a freelancer/company is that in the latter case, the other party initiates the conversation with a clear expectation of paying — they only have to decide if they like the terms and price.

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