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Open source is not about you (2018)
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Re: Open source is not about you (2018)
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
TFA was posted in 2018; that drama is from the past few days. What connection is there?
But the link to the post was posted here just now! - which I'm assuming means something. Both share a theme: the trials and tribulations of running an open source project, I suppose. Some contributions, one way or another, demand more of them than the maintainer might like. How do you deal with this? How do you set the boundaries? And so on.
I guess we were responding to different things: my reading of GP's question was why the gist was posted (back in 2018), not why it was shared today.
But indeed yes, I can see that connection.
Re: Open source is not about you (2018)
#13[flagged]
What do you mean?
Re: Open source is not about you (2018)
#14Can you add the year (2018) to the submission title? https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
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Re: Open source is not about you (2018)
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
But the link to the post was posted here just now! - which I'm assuming means something. Both share a theme: the trials and tribulations of running an open source project, I suppose. Some contributions, one way or another, demand more of them than the maintainer might like. How do you deal with this? How do you set the boundaries? And so on.
I guess we were responding to different things: my reading of GP's question was why the gist was posted (back in 2018), not why it was shared today. But indeed yes, I can see that connection.
I think you're right anyway. Re-reading the post with your comment in mind, I think it's clear enough that this was what was actually meant.
Re: Open source is not about you (2018)
#16Lately I'm seeing more and more value in writing down expectations explicitly, especially when people's implicit assumptions about those expectations diverge.
The linked gist seems to mostly be describing a misalignment between the expectations of the project owners and its users. I don't know the context, but it seems to have been written in frustration. It does articulate a set of expectations, but it is written in a defensive and exasperated tone.
If I found myself in a situation like that today, I would write a CONTRIBUTING.md file in the project root that describes my expectations (eg. PRs are / are not welcome, decisions about the project are made in X fashion, etc.) in a dispassionate way. If users expressed expectations that were misaligned with my intentions, I would simply point them to CONTRIBUTING.md and close off the discussion. I would try to take this step long before I had the level of frustration that is expressed in the gist.
I don't say this to criticize the linked post; I've only recently come to this understanding. But it seems like a healthier approach than to let frustration and resentment grow over time.
Re: Open source is not about you (2018)
#17[dead]
Re: Open source is not about you (2018)
#18I think community development with repos out in the open and all that is increasingly a too high cost. I will migrate my little open source projects from GitHub as soon as I can decide on what site to post source code releases (tar.gz). Happy to share my code, but no need for everything to be out in the open.
Re: Open source is not about you (2018)
#19[dead]
It's an interesting world for sure, I maintain a somewhat popular package and got a form to fill from a Deloitte consultant about security once.
They seemed genuinely confused when I told them I was not going to fill compliance form and make patching commitments for free. Really makes you wonder how many maintainers are letting themselves be taken advantage of.
Re: Open source is not about you (2018)
#20I feel much better after reading this because our organizations are:
- funding OSS developers
- engaging with OSS developers to determine potential funding priorities
- providing project hardware at the project level
- providing hardware to the individual OSS developer
While we are not to the point of hosting events in Hawaii yet, I’m hoping we can see this as a teaming arrangement to accomplish great things together!