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What a phenomenal article. It's shocking how entitled people get about 100% free software. Some really emotionally intelligent insights here.

gitgud 7y ago
Looking back, I've written some regrettable github issues with a lack of respect for the maintainers. What I've learnt is that if you want something done then ask politely, if you want something done now then try and do it yourself. That's the inherent beauty of open source.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- rectang 7y ago
  What if we required that people leave videos instead of writing up issues? I'm not seriously proposing that, but it's harder to be a jackass when speaking than writing. Especially to someone's face.
  - thrwaway69 7y ago
    Then you would never recieve an issue from me. :( I have a hard time conveying my thoughts properly without writing them down. You would watch me blubber about the process rather than the problem. Beside, it being a privacy issue and not comfortable sharing something that might get memed or used for political purposes.
    - rectang 7y ago
      True, it's not really a workable idea. My point is that text communication encourages jackassery, and many people don't think about that until they consider just how ridiculous or obnoxious their words sound when spoken aloud to somebody's face.
      - thrwaway69 7y ago
        We should use more emojis. :D It helps convey some intent. Hm, that would actually be interesting. A browser plugin that automatically inserts emojis to convey your current emotions or feelings. You can set it yourself, it may learn from your interactions too.
    - Sean1708 7y ago
      Funnily enough I often have the opposite issue. I will sometimes start writing up a bug report, spend a couple of hours trying to get my thoughts down on paper, then give up because I have neither the time nor energy to finish. I kind of wish there was an option to submit a voice recording along with some code snippets :(
  - swayson 7y ago
    Video can be costly, especially in countries where data is still expensive. It can be a barrier to allowing more diverse communities to also contribute unfortunately.
  - scarejunba 7y ago
    KernelPRBot on https://github.com/torvalds/linux/pulls https://github.com/torvalds/linux/pulls just asks you to use the mailing list.
- floatingatoll 7y ago
  If you want something done, do it yourself or hire someone to do it. There is no implicit reason for you to share your desire with the maintainer, unless you have a working agreement with them or would like to initiate one. If you consider what you want and you think that it clearly aligns with the maintainer’s needs, then consider sharing your ‘want’ along with an explanation of why you think it’s valuable for their needs. If you can’t figure out what their needs are, and you can’t provide an explanation for why this is important to them, then there’s no reason for you to bring it up to them at all. (This will seem abrupt, but it’s not meant to be hurtful in any way - I’m just literal and sociology-ish. I did my best to be clear and kind about my view. No harm intended, apologies if any caused.)

gitgud 7y ago

Looking back, I've written some regrettable github issues with a lack of respect for the maintainers. What I've learnt is that if you want something done then ask politely, if you want something done now then try and do it yourself. That's the inherent beauty of open source.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
rectang 7y ago
What if we required that people leave videos instead of writing up issues? I'm not seriously proposing that, but it's harder to be a jackass when speaking than writing. Especially to someone's face.
- thrwaway69 7y ago
  Then you would never recieve an issue from me. :( I have a hard time conveying my thoughts properly without writing them down. You would watch me blubber about the process rather than the problem. Beside, it being a privacy issue and not comfortable sharing something that might get memed or used for political purposes.
  - rectang 7y ago
    True, it's not really a workable idea. My point is that text communication encourages jackassery, and many people don't think about that until they consider just how ridiculous or obnoxious their words sound when spoken aloud to somebody's face.
    - thrwaway69 7y ago
      We should use more emojis. :D It helps convey some intent. Hm, that would actually be interesting. A browser plugin that automatically inserts emojis to convey your current emotions or feelings. You can set it yourself, it may learn from your interactions too.
  - Sean1708 7y ago
    Funnily enough I often have the opposite issue. I will sometimes start writing up a bug report, spend a couple of hours trying to get my thoughts down on paper, then give up because I have neither the time nor energy to finish. I kind of wish there was an option to submit a voice recording along with some code snippets :(
- swayson 7y ago
  Video can be costly, especially in countries where data is still expensive. It can be a barrier to allowing more diverse communities to also contribute unfortunately.
- scarejunba 7y ago
  KernelPRBot on https://github.com/torvalds/linux/pulls https://github.com/torvalds/linux/pulls just asks you to use the mailing list.
floatingatoll 7y ago
If you want something done, do it yourself or hire someone to do it. There is no implicit reason for you to share your desire with the maintainer, unless you have a working agreement with them or would like to initiate one. If you consider what you want and you think that it clearly aligns with the maintainer’s needs, then consider sharing your ‘want’ along with an explanation of why you think it’s valuable for their needs. If you can’t figure out what their needs are, and you can’t provide an explanation for why this is important to them, then there’s no reason for you to bring it up to them at all. (This will seem abrupt, but it’s not meant to be hurtful in any way - I’m just literal and sociology-ish. I did my best to be clear and kind about my view. No harm intended, apologies if any caused.)