Why does that matter? People always say that about open source! “If you don’t like it then fix it yourself!” And then they complain that no one wants to use it!
You can’t have it both ways. If you’re just building it for yourself then keep it to yourself. If you open it up to the public then people are going to complain if there’s issues (or just ignore it outright if it sucks).
Having said all that, I do have a lot of sympathy for volunteer devs who promise to fix issues after they complete some core rewrite or major refactor, as long as they’re open about it and make a good case for it being necessary. I have a lot less sympathy for developers who are forever bored of fixing issues and just want to endlessly break things by doing rewrites and other fun hobby stuff. If you’re going to do that then don’t present your project as if it were part of the open source community; it’s your hobby, not a community project.
Even setting aside Patreon or whatever else, I think you’re still wrong about public passion project developers getting to do whatever they want and not have people criticize them for it. If you invite people into your space and then pull the rug out from under them, people are going to treat you like an asshole because you are one for doing that.
There’s no expectation here. You’re free to walk away from a project any time. You’re free to take your ball and go home. The question is about whether you’re immune to criticism.
I say that when you put a project out into public and people start using it, you invite criticism (but also praise, of course). The issue is with people who think they’re only entitled to praise and not criticism. They want to have their cake and eat it too.
Why does that matter? People always say that about open source! “If you don’t like it then fix it yourself!” And then they complain that no one wants to use it!
You can’t have it both ways. If you’re just building it for yourself then keep it to yourself. If you open it up to the public then people are going to complain if there’s issues (or just ignore it outright if it sucks).
Having said all that, I do have a lot of sympathy for volunteer devs who promise to fix issues after they complete some core rewrite or major refactor, as long as they’re open about it and make a good case for it being necessary. I have a lot less sympathy for developers who are forever bored of fixing issues and just want to endlessly break things by doing rewrites and other fun hobby stuff. If you’re going to do that then don’t present your project as if it were part of the open source community; it’s your hobby, not a community project.
are they paid?
yes or no
Many of them often are, through donations / Patreon / etc.
so no
there’s your answer and I suspect you understand this as we’ve struggled to arrive here
if you want people to do non passion projects you need to pay them for those parts specifically
as much as I love patreon as a concept (not the company it is shit) the work agreement I’ve always seen is rather open
Even setting aside Patreon or whatever else, I think you’re still wrong about public passion project developers getting to do whatever they want and not have people criticize them for it. If you invite people into your space and then pull the rug out from under them, people are going to treat you like an asshole because you are one for doing that.
people get all kinds of ideas on what they are owed
but expecting educated, talented people to do boring/difficult/unfun stuff for free is lol
There’s no expectation here. You’re free to walk away from a project any time. You’re free to take your ball and go home. The question is about whether you’re immune to criticism.
I say that when you put a project out into public and people start using it, you invite criticism (but also praise, of course). The issue is with people who think they’re only entitled to praise and not criticism. They want to have their cake and eat it too.
and yet here we are lol
this is really simple
if you want specifically a thing, pay for specifically that thing
But you’re free to criticize, free to fork, and free to ignore in the open source world. Can’t take the criticism? Too bad! Grow a spine!