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As an author of dozens of open-source projects, I was really surprised how entitled / rude people can be. I was even told f-word just because I used babel for compiling JS. I was like WTF. Some people act as if they are my paying customers when I get zero compensation from my open source projects. I just share my work because I think they can be useful for some. I don't have any obligations to solve their problems.
Interestingly, I tried asking this on Reddit once, and the majority of replies indicated they didn't want a thank-you letter: https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/71fupc/foss_develope...
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'm 99% sure you meant this purely in the context of your earlier statemetn ("hey, implement this, plz"), but I just wanted to say a plain ol' thanks for me helps a lot in my motivation for doing my OSS projects. Knowing people actually use my shit, and enjoy it is nice :)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I maintain a fairly popular repository, and it does brighten my day when I receive an email like this! Unfortunately, you are getting more random malformated issues (ie. “DOESN’T WORK. WHEN FIX”) than thanks!
Sometimes even a well-formatted, respectful issue feels like a thank you.
Very much so. I like if people find actual issues in software I helped write and report them. At least if there's some information to go on, or friendly asks for pointers what information to provide.
It's the "BROKEN! NEED FIX URGENTLY" without further information that's insulting.
I'm even OK with somebody expressing urgency, as long as it's clear they're willing to invest enough time themselves.
Let's not forget companies that provide free services to open source projects.
Such as?
Edited to add a link
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's a fun expression, first time I hear it! In Polish, you would say "you give a finger, and they'll take the whole hand".
In many Spanish countries we have a similar one: "le das la mano y agarran el codo", which translates "you give them a hand and they'll grab the elbow".
As a maintainer of a project¹ that many use, I've had private messages encouraging me to commit suicide etc. Not ideal.
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…
And what is the issue with just telling them that it could take a lot of work, so probably not? Why does it bother you if someone says thanks? It does not put you in any obligation to do anything... I do not understand your point of view. Should we stop saying thanks in our daily life? Because it does not really do anything for anyone.... To me the following two messages give off two totally different vibes: 'Hi, can…
and
> 'Can you implement ?'
Are very differently loaded questions! The first one very much indicates no concern about the implementers time, and is very often seen coming from people that have no idea the complexity of the work involved with the "Thansk!" indicating the implementer would automatically accept it regardless of their own priority, while the second one is way more innocent and open for a reply back with "not sure if I have time for that atm".
EDIT: In short, it's a matter of etiquette, the same way nobody wants to deal with a complete fucking asshole (sorry, personal scars here...).
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…
Done incorrectly, this can sound passive aggressive, but I suggest adding a short notice in your README: - Feature requests should follow ((list your rules)). All requests that don't follow the rules will be ((closed|ignored)) - ((The maintainers of this project)) will only add new features ((at their leisure)). If you cannot contribute a pull request for ((feature X)), make a feature request ((following the rules on…