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SleepyHead Project Is Shutting Down

jedimark.net

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Re: SleepyHead Project Is Shutting Down

#3

Post by nikkwong »

Sleepyhead probably saved my life (literally) when I couldn't get any sleep doctors to take my condition seriously. I can't thank him enough for his contributions.

The software is quite good, too, with a better UX than a lot of enterprise apps that I use on a daily basis. Might go to show how one person's ownership can lead to the creation of great experiences in ways that the lack of ownership often found in large software projects does not.

Re: SleepyHead Project Is Shutting Down

#4

Post by pram »

No idea what 'SleepyHead' is but I understand the sentiment. I've felt the pain from the perception of not getting anything back after you've poured so much of yourself into a thing. Especially when it's for free, the lack of support starts to feel like ingratitude.

It might or might not be true. People might actually appreciate what you're doing, but never explicitly say it. However, after a certain point, your mind becomes so toxic and awful that nothing will convince you otherwise. It's really better to walk away than become a shitty, bitter husk IMO. Good luck, guy!

Re: SleepyHead Project Is Shutting Down

#5

Post by CrazyCatDog »

Two innovations have revolutionized my life—CPAP and Sleepyhead.

I volunteered to do a sleep study at the famous Stanford Sleep Clinic some 15 years ago hoping that they would tell me I’m superhuman and don’t need sleep. They came back and told me that I sleep very poorly.

CPAP machines are (finally) wonderful, but the manufacturers don’t share any of the data that their machines collect other than basics like hours slept. For those of us with the intellectual curiosity to actually double click on your sleep numbers, Mark’s work is invaluable. I have over 1,500 nights of sleep logged in Sleepyhead...I learned the perils of drinking wine with dinner, the value in tucking in at the same time every night, and which masks work best for me—just to name a few benefits.

I use sleep medicine to improve my life, the same way that I use a screwdriver to tighten screws—which is to say, I pay no attention to the sleep-apnea forums and I suspect most users are the same. I’m sharing all of this here in case Mark by chance frequents this forum—and hopefully if enough others like me discuss the value that this free product creates every night for so many millions of users, he may reconsider. I for one, would gladly pay for a Sleepyhead subscription if that meant continued support.

Thanks Mark, your work is invaluable.

Link to vice motherboard article about why Sleepyhead matters: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/xwjd4w/im-possibl...

Re: SleepyHead Project Is Shutting Down

#8

Post by jonawesomegreen »

Open source is hard. Being a maintainer is hard. I've seen a lot of good people burn themselves out trying to maintain / contribute to open source software.

I think this is a great blog post / talk (not mine) about the topic: https://snarky.ca/setting-expectations-for-open-source-parti...

"Here's a bit of real talk for people: I think working in OSS has made me more bitter and short-temperated".

Best wishes to the maintainer, hopefully time gives some perspective on the problems in the community and perhaps some ways forward.

Re: SleepyHead Project Is Shutting Down

#9

Post by floatingatoll »

pram wrote: post #4

No idea what 'SleepyHead' is but I understand the sentiment. I've felt the pain from the perception of not getting anything back after you've poured so much of yourself into a thing. Especially when it's for free, the lack of support starts to feel like ingratitude. It might or might not be true. People might actually appreciate what you're doing, but never explicitly say it. However, after a certain point, your mind…

There's a Vice article link elsewhere in the comments, and at the end of the linked post, that explains what it is and why it mattered.
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