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Given the response times to bugs by paid teams compelled on threat of terminated employment to implement fixes for things...an open source maintainer absolutely

Given the response times to bugs by paid teams compelled on threat of terminated employment to implement fixes for things...an open source maintainer absolutely could ignore even critical bugs. I've seen many maintainers whinging about the demands of communities on their time. But it's all 'choose-your-level-of-involvement'. Those people clamoring for attention may be annoyed and frustrated with you, but that doesn't answer the question as to why that's a problem unless you choose for it to be.

evanelias 6y ago
> an open source maintainer absolutely could ignore even critical bugs If the maintainer is a solopreneur, whose source of income is a paid SaaS version of the open source project, then no they typically cannot ignore critical bugs. > Those people clamoring for attention may be annoyed and frustrated with you, but that doesn't answer the question as to why that's a problem unless you choose for it to be. Out of curiosity have you ever maintained a decently popular single-primary-maintainer open source project? How about one with a SaaS or commercial version? Frequent frustrating interactions with users isn't exactly beneficial to one's sense of motivation, at least in my experience (which mirrors the original article quite closely).
- musingsole 6y ago
  Commercial products ignore critical bugs all the time. A bug being an impact to income is a relative thing for everyone, corporations to sole proprietors. As is response to your customers/community. Not everyone needs or at all provides stellar customer service. Maintainers may have a degree of involvement necessitated by their business needs. However, the loudest people screaming for support are very rarely even the same niche as those funding a project. So ignore the whining; listen to the constructive bits if they're there. Delete messages en masse and move on with your life.
  - evanelias 6y ago
    In my field (database automation) I do not ignore bug reports, ever. Critical bugs can mean data loss and severe reputational harm. YMMV. We can agree to disagree.
    - musingsole 6y ago
      Because in your specific niche of software you can't imagine letting a bug report hang for a day...you're incapable of understanding that that is not the case for 99% of software? You're unaware of bug tickets wallowing in backlogs for days to years?
      - evanelias 6y ago
        I have said nothing about what I can or cannot imagine or understand. I specifically said YMMV to indicate that I acknowledge experiences will differ across fields. I find your tone to be uncivil and I do not wish to continue this discussion with you.

evanelias 6y ago

> an open source maintainer absolutely could ignore even critical bugs If the maintainer is a solopreneur, whose source of income is a paid SaaS version of the open source project, then no they typically cannot ignore critical bugs. > Those people clamoring for attention may be annoyed and frustrated with you, but that doesn't answer the question as to why that's a problem unless you choose for it to be. Out of curiosity have you ever maintained a decently popular single-primary-maintainer open source project? How about one with a SaaS or commercial version? Frequent frustrating interactions with users isn't exactly beneficial to one's sense of motivation, at least in my experience (which mirrors the original article quite closely).

musingsole 6y ago
Commercial products ignore critical bugs all the time. A bug being an impact to income is a relative thing for everyone, corporations to sole proprietors. As is response to your customers/community. Not everyone needs or at all provides stellar customer service. Maintainers may have a degree of involvement necessitated by their business needs. However, the loudest people screaming for support are very rarely even the same niche as those funding a project. So ignore the whining; listen to the constructive bits if they're there. Delete messages en masse and move on with your life.
- evanelias 6y ago
  In my field (database automation) I do not ignore bug reports, ever. Critical bugs can mean data loss and severe reputational harm. YMMV. We can agree to disagree.
  - musingsole 6y ago
    Because in your specific niche of software you can't imagine letting a bug report hang for a day...you're incapable of understanding that that is not the case for 99% of software? You're unaware of bug tickets wallowing in backlogs for days to years?
    - evanelias 6y ago
      I have said nothing about what I can or cannot imagine or understand. I specifically said YMMV to indicate that I acknowledge experiences will differ across fields. I find your tone to be uncivil and I do not wish to continue this discussion with you.