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Open source projects should run office hours

simonwillison.net

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Re: Open source projects should run office hours

#131

Post by RBerenguel »

GordonS wrote: post #121
whizzter wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The title is kinda unclear for someone non-English/US, for me office hours only means the actual hours when things are worked on (rather than any kind of availability time). So skimming the title it quickly I read it as "Open source projects should run on office hours" since my mind filled that in, kinda implied that someone in another part of the world should adjust their life hours to contribute to OSS. (Yes after…

I am a native speaker (well, Scottish, so some may disagree ;), and I didn't get the title either. Maybe it's an American thing, by "office hours" to me means 9-5, local time - you know, the kind of hours that people typically work in an office.

To me (non-native, Spain), I read "office hours" as the time when I was a teacher in university: you have a set period of time where you are marked as available in your office for student consultation. I'm pretty sure that's what "office hours" is supposed to mean, although in Spanish and Catalan the word used would literally translate as "consultation hours" (horas/hores de consulta).

Re: Open source projects should run office hours

#132

Post by jq-r »

chalst wrote: post #86
chrismorgan wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve come across it in various largely-Americentric writing and figured out the concept, but yeah, it’s not something I’ve seen practised in Australia. It means “I will always be available in my office during such-and-such hours every week, for anyone to come and talk to.” I think it’s normally a walk-in affair rather than involving making appointments. First come, first serve, but now you don’t have to go through th…

It's common in Germany, called "Sprechstunde" ("speaking hours").

"Consultation hours" in some EU countries.

Re: Open source projects should run office hours

#133

Post by msravi »

whizzter wrote: post #114
matkoniecz wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I referred specifically to the title in my comment. It is part of things personally irritating to me, and something what is biggest threat to small open source projects that I like. People are mistaken in thinking that having an open source project implies any obligation beyond lack of malice. And people tired by dealing with that are one of top reason why open source projects disappear or are never created.

The title is kinda unclear for someone non-English/US, for me office hours only means the actual hours when things are worked on (rather than any kind of availability time). So skimming the title it quickly I read it as "Open source projects should run on office hours" since my mind filled that in, kinda implied that someone in another part of the world should adjust their life hours to contribute to OSS. (Yes after…

I'm not a native english speaker either, but typically, in American usage, "office hours" refers to published, allocated hours for someone, such as a professor at a university, to allow walk-ins where (s)he can answer students' questions 1-on-1 above and beyond the classroom hours. I guess this expands to other settings too.

Re: Open source projects should run office hours

#134

Post by joshuaissac »

RBerenguel wrote: post #131
GordonS wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a native speaker (well, Scottish, so some may disagree ;), and I didn't get the title either. Maybe it's an American thing, by "office hours" to me means 9-5, local time - you know, the kind of hours that people typically work in an office.

To me (non-native, Spain), I read "office hours" as the time when I was a teacher in university: you have a set period of time where you are marked as available in your office for student consultation. I'm pretty sure that's what "office hours" is supposed to mean, although in Spanish and Catalan the word used would literally translate as "consultation hours" (horas/hores de consulta).

The phrase is used in the same sense at universities in England.

Re: Open source projects should run office hours

#135

Post by phone_book »

RBerenguel wrote: post #131
GordonS wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a native speaker (well, Scottish, so some may disagree ;), and I didn't get the title either. Maybe it's an American thing, by "office hours" to me means 9-5, local time - you know, the kind of hours that people typically work in an office.

To me (non-native, Spain), I read "office hours" as the time when I was a teacher in university: you have a set period of time where you are marked as available in your office for student consultation. I'm pretty sure that's what "office hours" is supposed to mean, although in Spanish and Catalan the word used would literally translate as "consultation hours" (horas/hores de consulta).

This is the same in the US based on my experience

Re: Open source projects should run office hours

#137

Post by corobo »

matkoniecz wrote: post #90

I have deep aversion to "Open source projects should run office hours" title. Maybe "Office hours may be a good idea for open source projects"? This would not suggest obligation. In general, fact that someone created or maintains or supports open source projects should not be considered to create any obligations beyond lack of malice and abuse. I am not obligated to support any bugs, create any features and it is per…

So don't do it? If it doesn't work for you, remove yourself from the target audience of this post lmao

Classic SHOULD vs MUST.

This comment thread is being upvoted because.. wait we're not supposed to suggest someone didn't read the article here are we :)

Re: Open source projects should run office hours

#138

Post by vasquez »

cookiengineer wrote: post #15

Isn't this kind of a paradox? Most open source maintainers work in their free time on those projects, and have an additional fulltime job to cover the bills. Assuming that everybody has the luxury to have additional office hours available is a bit far from reality in my opinion. I mean, if you can offer office hours for an open source project you probably are already so popular that you are able to work on it fulltim…

> Most open source maintainers work in their free time on those projects, and have an additional fulltime job to cover the bills.

Are you certain? I'd think most open source development is done by paid developers, on company time.

Re: Open source projects should run office hours

#139

Post by corobo »

haskal wrote: post #38
thunderbong wrote: post #35

I think a lot of the comments are concluding from the title that open source maintainers should be working on the projects during office hours. That is not what the article is suggesting. From the article - >> anyone can book a 25 minute conversation with me on a Friday to talk about the project. I’m interested in talking to people who are using Datasette, or who are considering using it, or who just want to have a c…

I thought "office hours" is a common term in universities?

I've never come across the phrase "office hours" outside of describing contractual work hours for a job.

UK if it helps but also I only work for smaller startup sized companies maybe it's a corporate thing

Re: Open source projects should run office hours

#140

Post by mcherm »

matkoniecz wrote: post #90

I have deep aversion to "Open source projects should run office hours" title. Maybe "Office hours may be a good idea for open source projects"? This would not suggest obligation. In general, fact that someone created or maintains or supports open source projects should not be considered to create any obligations beyond lack of malice and abuse. I am not obligated to support any bugs, create any features and it is per…

I saw the title and thought to myself, "No one has the right to tell open source volunteers how to spend their time! The only way an article with that title is acceptable is if it's talking about benefits to the DEVELOPER, not the user."

Then I read the article and it IS using "should" in the sense of "I found this beneficial, you may too" rather than "this is an obligation".

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