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I am sorry to hear about the author's issues, but I do think it's a little dramatic to call this being rude and applying pressure. The person pretty clearly sta

by bmitc 3y ago

I am sorry to hear about the author's issues, but I do think it's a little dramatic to call this being rude and applying pressure. The person pretty clearly stated some basic and legitimate questions, offered support, etc. I think it would behoove open-source developers who are sensitive to dealing with potential users and collaborators to more clearly state and set expectations on the repository's README. Many authors clearly like to use open-source packages they maintain as a sort of professional portfolio, which is perfectly fine, and this author even asks for paid support at the bottom of the README. Is it really out of line to ask about the status if it is not otherwise clear? All of these little scuffles from maintainers towards contributors and users are often from lack of communication and expectation setting on the side of the maintainer(s) and code owner(s), although contributors and users can also be demanding. I think the issue is that everyone has their version of expectations in their head but not everyone shares those. It's the same as with any human communication, so the more information the better. I think there is a bit of a mismatch between advertising code, asking for paid support, etc. and then being upset at activity in the repo without more clear guidelines. I have seen plenty of repositories that very clearly state that they won't accept pull requests, they won't accept anything but the simplest of bug fixes, that this library is really just for the author's use but it is being open sourced in case it's useful to someone else. That's a good example of setting expectations that provides more context than pointing to a license.

ysavir 3y ago
This was my take as well. It seems like the author did the bare minimum to communicate the state of the project and is now complaining when people don't understand the situation. For all the anxiety they feel, it could have been prevented with just a minute's worth of effort.
avinassh 3y ago
I checked both the issues mentioned, people have been respectful and showing empathy to author's situation https://github.com/minimaxir/simpleaichat/issues/91 https://github.com/minimaxir/simpleaichat/issues/91 https://github.com/minimaxir/simpleaichat/issues/92 https://github.com/minimaxir/simpleaichat/issues/92
- bmitc 3y ago
  I think the author is going through a tough time and probably just needs to step back from software, especially with the implied pressure being felt. We've all been there, in varying degrees, and software and technology is the least important thing in our lives. But there's some general commentary here that I think is applicable to maintainers appropriately setting expectations that contributors can abide to or be held to when interacting with the given projects.
amanzi 3y ago
That first screenshot is an incredibly polite comment from someone also willing to offer help to the maintainer. In my opinion, it's perfectly reasonable to ask if a project is still being maintained. I often come across packages that have had no updates in a year, and it's hard to know if that's because they aren't being maintained, or if they are being maintained and no updates have been required. I hear the argument from some open-source maintainers that they have no obligations to the people who use (and depend on) their software. But there are lots of open-source developers that actually want people to use (and to depend) on their software. Being an open-source developer of a widely-used application or package can bring great benefits to the developer - at the very least it garners them respect from the community and potentially from future employers, and in some cases it can lead to huge financial rewards: acquisitions, great career prospects, paid trips around the world to speak at conferences, etc. It's definitely more of a two-way street than some developers would lead you to believe.
- Grimburger 3y ago
  >first screenshot is an incredibly polite comment >"What's your time commitment?"
  - jstarfish 3y ago
    Quoting people out of context? Tsk, tsk. I thought we were all adults. Why didn't you post the whole comment? > I really like the philosophy and design of this package but it appears its development process has basically stopped. I don't mean to pressure or to be rude but if @minimaxir could share his thoughts on this I would really appreciate it. > Can we expect development by the maintainer? > How can the community support? > Are you open to PRs and reviewing them? > What's your time commitment? > Should someone just fork the repo and develop it from there? > Thanks
    - florbo 3y ago
      That's very polite, with the added bonus of being clear and concise. Not sure why the author took issue with it.

by bmitc 3y ago

ysavir 3y ago

This was my take as well. It seems like the author did the bare minimum to communicate the state of the project and is now complaining when people don't understand the situation. For all the anxiety they feel, it could have been prevented with just a minute's worth of effort.

avinassh 3y ago

I checked both the issues mentioned, people have been respectful and showing empathy to author's situation https://github.com/minimaxir/simpleaichat/issues/91 https://github.com/minimaxir/simpleaichat/issues/91 https://github.com/minimaxir/simpleaichat/issues/92 https://github.com/minimaxir/simpleaichat/issues/92

bmitc 3y ago
I think the author is going through a tough time and probably just needs to step back from software, especially with the implied pressure being felt. We've all been there, in varying degrees, and software and technology is the least important thing in our lives. But there's some general commentary here that I think is applicable to maintainers appropriately setting expectations that contributors can abide to or be held to when interacting with the given projects.

amanzi 3y ago

That first screenshot is an incredibly polite comment from someone also willing to offer help to the maintainer. In my opinion, it's perfectly reasonable to ask if a project is still being maintained. I often come across packages that have had no updates in a year, and it's hard to know if that's because they aren't being maintained, or if they are being maintained and no updates have been required. I hear the argument from some open-source maintainers that they have no obligations to the people who use (and depend on) their software. But there are lots of open-source developers that actually want people to use (and to depend) on their software. Being an open-source developer of a widely-used application or package can bring great benefits to the developer - at the very least it garners them respect from the community and potentially from future employers, and in some cases it can lead to huge financial rewards: acquisitions, great career prospects, paid trips around the world to speak at conferences, etc. It's definitely more of a two-way street than some developers would lead you to believe.

Grimburger 3y ago
>first screenshot is an incredibly polite comment >"What's your time commitment?"
- jstarfish 3y ago
  Quoting people out of context? Tsk, tsk. I thought we were all adults. Why didn't you post the whole comment? > I really like the philosophy and design of this package but it appears its development process has basically stopped. I don't mean to pressure or to be rude but if @minimaxir could share his thoughts on this I would really appreciate it. > Can we expect development by the maintainer? > How can the community support? > Are you open to PRs and reviewing them? > What's your time commitment? > Should someone just fork the repo and develop it from there? > Thanks
  - florbo 3y ago
    That's very polite, with the added bonus of being clear and concise. Not sure why the author took issue with it.