Ask HN: How to say no to a GitHub issue feature request?

Post by sandreas » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 12:06 PM UTC

soneil wrote: post #99

sandreas wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you would like to see an example of a polite and meaningful discussion I had with a maintainer declining my feature request, you could read this: https://github.com/nblumhardt/serilog-timings/issues/52 But I would not expect every requester to be polite and accept a NO...

That really is a great example, but it's very noticeable that you both went into it with the perfect attitude (and maintained an awareness that each had different needs & goals). It's the "Veruca Salt" case that's much more difficult to solve for.

Post by nonameking2026 » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 12:09 PM UTC

sandreas wrote: post #82

zimbatm wrote: post #69

The best thing to do is to decide where your boundaries are, and then tell them. I was in your position many times. I was so frustrated to feel like the other person was entitled to my time. Then I had to fight my urges to tell them to fuck off, wasting even more time and energy in the process. Even if I replied, it wasn't helpful to anybody if I was being polite but passive-aggressive. Then I realized that it was a…

If you would like to see an example of a polite and meaningful discussion I had with a maintainer declining my feature request, you could read this: https://github.com/nblumhardt/serilog-timings/issues/52 But I would not expect every requester to be polite and accept a NO...

Post by jffry » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 12:15 PM UTC

kkirsche wrote: post #66

junon wrote: post #46

Hi, sorry but this is simply not something I'm interested in implementing. Further, please remember that GitHub maintainers do this for free, on their own time. Thanks! --- Anything more than that, block and move on. I've been on GH for 10 years or so and it's gotten really bad in the last few regarding pushy dickheads like this. You owe nothing to them, and if they can't behave within the OSS ecosystem then they're…

As someone who makes lots of merge requests, please don’t add the further statement. In my experience while it’s well intentioned, it (understandably) frustrates contributors because it’s making an assumption that they aren’t valuing your time, which you don’t know. Just my 2¢, at the end of the day do what feels best for you, but you may drive away some contributors.

Post by d99kris » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 12:17 PM UTC

zimbatm wrote: post #69

The best thing to do is to decide where your boundaries are, and then tell them. I was in your position many times. I was so frustrated to feel like the other person was entitled to my time. Then I had to fight my urges to tell them to fuck off, wasting even more time and energy in the process. Even if I replied, it wasn't helpful to anybody if I was being polite but passive-aggressive. Then I realized that it was a…

Post by tomrod » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 12:18 PM UTC

robalni wrote: post #35

flibble wrote: post #19

This sounds like a problem you will face many times in the future and therefore you may benefit from finding a solution that will solve for both this request and all similar future requests. For example, instead of writing any customised response, you could write a blog post / make a webpage that explains your approach to these types of request and then simply link to it in a reply. Then every time this comes up you…

> simply paste in “Thank you for your request. Please see [URL]”. I think this can make people feel like you don't understand them and maybe make them angry. It feels like an automatic response you would post when you haven't even read the request. I think you should at least clearly say that you don't want the requested feature in the response, then you can link to the page.