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I'm sorry to hear that. libCurl is great and my life is better for it. It's really best to not reply to the mentally ill people (and you can be pretty sure an

by nullc 6y ago

I'm sorry to hear that. libCurl is great and my life is better for it. It's really best to not reply to the mentally ill people (and you can be pretty sure anyone sending something like the first is at least temporarily mentally ill). It can sometimes be extremely tempting, I know-- especially when they've managed to say something almost perfectly constructed for pithy comeback. But it will not help you and it will not help them. If it does anything it will just encourage the behavior. If it is any consolation lots of other people receive nasty kookmail messages -- I know first hand, in addition to the ones I get directly some of the kooks like to send massive carbon copy blasts-- as a result I have a bunch of very strange mail rules, like discarding any email that copies both a whitehouse.gov email address and Jeff Bezos, or another if both George Soros and Noam Chomsky are copied.

deleted 6y ago
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notthegov2 6y ago
Lol that is smart and impressive and odd and disturbing.
konjin 6y ago
I never got more hate mail then when I tried doing outreach for my physics group. It did include death threats (I think) it was hard to tell if I was being accused of being part of a modern inquisition that burned people at the stake or should be burned at the stake or both. It was pretty close to: https://web.archive.org/web/20150506055228/http://www.timecube.com/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150506055228/http://www.timecu... Another good time was when I was running a crypto meetup and we had to call the cops because someone came in naked, the CIA had put chips in their clothes and they had to burn their house down so they weren't homeless but on the run. Then there was the time I was on the board of a hacker space: https://shitnoisebridgesays.tumblr.com/page/3 https://shitnoisebridgesays.tumblr.com/page/3 it wasn't noise bridge but it had the same vibe.
cmsefton 6y ago
> libCurl is great and my life is better for it. This is not directed at you specifically, but your comment got me wondering how many people contact individuals like Daniel who are behind Open Source projects like this to share positive feedback, or even just to say "Thank you." I know I've not done it anywhere near as much as I should, and I suspect that doing so would help take the edge of what can often feel like a thankless task. I imagine it's a bit like reviews: people with a bad experience are more likely to leave a review. Perhaps the best way to help people like David is to stop once in a while and thank them for the things they've done.
- Mediterraneo10 6y ago
  > how many people contact individuals who are behind Open Source projects just to say "Thank you." Open-source developers occasionally express dislike of "thank you" messages. They may have written that software mainly to scratch their own itch, and dealing with messages that don't say anything but thanks takes precious time out of their day. Donating money, however, is usually more welcome.
  - hobofan 6y ago
    My social media bubble is one that comparatively spends a lot of thought on maintainter/contributor appreciation, and I've literally never heard that complaint. No open source maintainer is so busy that they don't have the time to respond to a ever so rare genuine thank you with a "Thanks, glad you appreciate it!".
    - mimimi31 6y ago
      I can kind of understand where they're coming from. I've had people create issues or leave comments on random commits for the sole purpose of expressing thanks, which can get annoying in a bigger project. Especially when there are a few hundred people watching the repository that now each receive multiple emails they aren't interested in. That said, I still do appreciate people taking the time to express thanks when opening an issue or when I have helped them with a problem.
david422 6y ago
> It's really best to not reply to the mentally ill people This IMO is the best way to deal with a lot of emails. I have some public software that is literally innocuous, and yet occasionally I get some very angry emails. An example: a small game where people think the game/computer is cheating (it's not). If someone fires off an angry, irrational email to you, they aren't looking for a rational response - they are looking for a debate, or a fight, or an outlet. It's best to let them move on.

by nullc 6y ago

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

notthegov2 6y ago

Lol that is smart and impressive and odd and disturbing.

konjin 6y ago

I never got more hate mail then when I tried doing outreach for my physics group. It did include death threats (I think) it was hard to tell if I was being accused of being part of a modern inquisition that burned people at the stake or should be burned at the stake or both. It was pretty close to: https://web.archive.org/web/20150506055228/http://www.timecube.com/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150506055228/http://www.timecu... Another good time was when I was running a crypto meetup and we had to call the cops because someone came in naked, the CIA had put chips in their clothes and they had to burn their house down so they weren't homeless but on the run. Then there was the time I was on the board of a hacker space: https://shitnoisebridgesays.tumblr.com/page/3 https://shitnoisebridgesays.tumblr.com/page/3 it wasn't noise bridge but it had the same vibe.

cmsefton 6y ago

> libCurl is great and my life is better for it. This is not directed at you specifically, but your comment got me wondering how many people contact individuals like Daniel who are behind Open Source projects like this to share positive feedback, or even just to say "Thank you." I know I've not done it anywhere near as much as I should, and I suspect that doing so would help take the edge of what can often feel like a thankless task. I imagine it's a bit like reviews: people with a bad experience are more likely to leave a review. Perhaps the best way to help people like David is to stop once in a while and thank them for the things they've done.

Mediterraneo10 6y ago
> how many people contact individuals who are behind Open Source projects just to say "Thank you." Open-source developers occasionally express dislike of "thank you" messages. They may have written that software mainly to scratch their own itch, and dealing with messages that don't say anything but thanks takes precious time out of their day. Donating money, however, is usually more welcome.
- hobofan 6y ago
  My social media bubble is one that comparatively spends a lot of thought on maintainter/contributor appreciation, and I've literally never heard that complaint. No open source maintainer is so busy that they don't have the time to respond to a ever so rare genuine thank you with a "Thanks, glad you appreciate it!".
  - mimimi31 6y ago
    I can kind of understand where they're coming from. I've had people create issues or leave comments on random commits for the sole purpose of expressing thanks, which can get annoying in a bigger project. Especially when there are a few hundred people watching the repository that now each receive multiple emails they aren't interested in. That said, I still do appreciate people taking the time to express thanks when opening an issue or when I have helped them with a problem.

david422 6y ago

> It's really best to not reply to the mentally ill people This IMO is the best way to deal with a lot of emails. I have some public software that is literally innocuous, and yet occasionally I get some very angry emails. An example: a small game where people think the game/computer is cheating (it's not). If someone fires off an angry, irrational email to you, they aren't looking for a rational response - they are looking for a debate, or a fight, or an outlet. It's best to let them move on.