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This is a terrifyingly accurate assessment. You've drilled into the focus of the article: 1. I'm too lazy to overcome the inertia of not knowing what to do ne

This is a terrifyingly accurate assessment. You've drilled into the focus of the article: 1. I'm too lazy to overcome the inertia of not knowing what to do next 2. I'm too scared of rejection or looking dumb The resulting question is: is there an onus on the community to provide additional tools to help the lazy/scared people like me push through these barriers? My opinion is "yes, within limits", but I would also understand if someone said "no".

eropple 15y ago
And I assume you would then also understand if people had better things to do than be shat on by that community (in the case of #2). #1 is simply false; when there is little context for how to contribute it is completely understandable that someone may be paralyzed by indecision. It has nothing to do with laziness. Contributing to open-source projects is, in my experience, often more trouble than it's worth--precisely because all too often the people already involved have forgotten (or never had the social capability to know and understand) that #1 is a falsehood and #2 is an eminently reasonable reaction for any remotely normal human being. I still contribute to some projects, but only projects that I or close personal friends maintain. It allows me to tell them to unscrew their heads when they act like the grandparent poster.
- tehviking 15y ago
  Yeah, I understand and empathize with your viewpoint. I wrote the article and felt like the detractor captured some of the weaknesses I possess that led to its writing.
  - eropple 15y ago
    I'd call it less "weaknesses" and more "normalcy." It's extremely intimidating to deal with certain aspects of the open-source community. Not because you're dumb or stupid or lazy, but because they're kinda, y'know. Crazy. (Note that in some cases it's a very beneficial form of crazy, and is not inherently bad, until it starts becoming an issue with other people.)

eropple 15y ago

And I assume you would then also understand if people had better things to do than be shat on by that community (in the case of #2). #1 is simply false; when there is little context for how to contribute it is completely understandable that someone may be paralyzed by indecision. It has nothing to do with laziness. Contributing to open-source projects is, in my experience, often more trouble than it's worth--precisely because all too often the people already involved have forgotten (or never had the social capability to know and understand) that #1 is a falsehood and #2 is an eminently reasonable reaction for any remotely normal human being. I still contribute to some projects, but only projects that I or close personal friends maintain. It allows me to tell them to unscrew their heads when they act like the grandparent poster.

tehviking 15y ago
Yeah, I understand and empathize with your viewpoint. I wrote the article and felt like the detractor captured some of the weaknesses I possess that led to its writing.
- eropple 15y ago
  I'd call it less "weaknesses" and more "normalcy." It's extremely intimidating to deal with certain aspects of the open-source community. Not because you're dumb or stupid or lazy, but because they're kinda, y'know. Crazy. (Note that in some cases it's a very beneficial form of crazy, and is not inherently bad, until it starts becoming an issue with other people.)