If you're running an open source project and users are pouring into the cracks to say that they don't like something, it's an obvious sign of what they want. Open-source is supposed to be about the community, maybe you should try listening harder to them.
Users aren't just sheep that use your product, they're an integral part of the entire process, equal in value to the developers.
edit: Who woulda thought that HN devs didn't give a shit about users? As if we didn't know that already...
Open source is about the idea that information should be free -- That wondrous things can be built when we are free to build upon the work of others.
Users are people who benefit from the fact that we've generously offered the results of our work without expectation of pay.
It has been my experience that those customers/clients who pay the most are the least demanding. Which is the primary reason that I generally only work on proprietary systems now.
Because as renumeration approaches zero, hassle approaches infinity.
Users are often valuable, unless they try to do something that doesn't align with the general goals of the project. People that don't use your project and still feel the need to butt in, even less so.
Open source is about whatever the developers want it to be about. They can be building it for themselves, for users, or for some weighted combination of both.
On the other hand, forking is completely legit. It happened already in the past and will happen in the future, for major disagreements. Open source mantainers don't owe it to the community, if the community ultimately does not behave.
Comments
This sure smells fishy...
If you're running an open source project and users are pouring into the cracks to say that they don't like something, it's an obvious sign of what they want. Open-source is supposed to be about the community, maybe you should try listening harder to them.
Users aren't just sheep that use your product, they're an integral part of the entire process, equal in value to the developers.
edit: Who woulda thought that HN devs didn't give a shit about users? As if we didn't know that already...
Open source is about the idea that information should be free -- That wondrous things can be built when we are free to build upon the work of others.
Users are people who benefit from the fact that we've generously offered the results of our work without expectation of pay.
It has been my experience that those customers/clients who pay the most are the least demanding. Which is the primary reason that I generally only work on proprietary systems now.
Because as renumeration approaches zero, hassle approaches infinity.
Users are often valuable, unless they try to do something that doesn't align with the general goals of the project. People that don't use your project and still feel the need to butt in, even less so.
Open source is about whatever the developers want it to be about. They can be building it for themselves, for users, or for some weighted combination of both.
On the other hand, forking is completely legit. It happened already in the past and will happen in the future, for major disagreements. Open source mantainers don't owe it to the community, if the community ultimately does not behave.