FOSS is a "thankless vocation" because it chose to be that way. Everyone who expects a thank you is an idiot and doesn't understand how people work. Linus Torva

FOSS is a "thankless vocation" because it chose to be that way. Everyone who expects a thank you is an idiot and doesn't understand how people work. Linus Torvalds created the Kernel not for the thanks. His intention was that someone else has any use of it. Anyone who contributes bullshit code to the Kernel was and will be criticised even more severe than I with my rants here. Not because Linus isn't thankful, but because his project is important to him. Now, with the above said, I also like it when people find any use of my software and I feel well damn responsible for anything I contribute. I take the blame if anything goes wrong and if I'm not able to keep up with bug reports. But somehow the FOSS-community got the idea that it's okay to just abandon a project, because no one wants to participate anymore. Once they've established a certain circle of users it's their goddamn responsibility to keep it running! It's a moral choice here, not a rational! It doesn't matter whether they have time for it or don't! You do not abandon your child when it becomes annoying and a burden.