Communicating expectations / setting boundaries feels key to avoiding negativity on both sides.
I recently read an article titled "Healthy Open Source Maintenance"[1], which proposed the introduction of a MAINTENANCE_MANIFESTO.md, meant to communicate expectations.
Quoting the fun part:
"Even though this idea is still in early stages, for the sake of clarity, this is what a selection of manifestos could look like:
- The sponsor me to get priority on your bug fix manifesto.
- The this is free goods and service, so you get what you get manifesto.
- The micro-donations to keep the project alive, but I decide what to work on manifesto.
- The hire the agency I work for to sponsor features manifesto.
…
The presence of the Healthy Maintainer Manifesto will be a tool to deflect social pressure. This will help maintainers that suffer from avoidance anxiety because they are not obligated to pay the maintenance taxes. Their manifesto says so! If any demanding user wants to pressure them into doing anything in particular, they can point them to the manifesto. The manifesto replaces complicated social interactions with a discharge form. The goal of this is to protect the maintainer, because, after all, maintainers are the cornerstone of open source—and thus all the software industry. And because we all prefer a community where maintainers are happy, and not at the brink of burnout."
I recently read an article titled "Healthy Open Source Maintenance"[1], which proposed the introduction of a MAINTENANCE_MANIFESTO.md, meant to communicate expectations.
Quoting the fun part:
"Even though this idea is still in early stages, for the sake of clarity, this is what a selection of manifestos could look like:
- The sponsor me to get priority on your bug fix manifesto.
- The this is free goods and service, so you get what you get manifesto.
- The micro-donations to keep the project alive, but I decide what to work on manifesto.
- The hire the agency I work for to sponsor features manifesto.
…
The presence of the Healthy Maintainer Manifesto will be a tool to deflect social pressure. This will help maintainers that suffer from avoidance anxiety because they are not obligated to pay the maintenance taxes. Their manifesto says so! If any demanding user wants to pressure them into doing anything in particular, they can point them to the manifesto. The manifesto replaces complicated social interactions with a discharge form. The goal of this is to protect the maintainer, because, after all, maintainers are the cornerstone of open source—and thus all the software industry. And because we all prefer a community where maintainers are happy, and not at the brink of burnout."
[1] https://www.lullabot.com/articles/healthy-open-source-mainte...