frobisherw (
frobisherw) wrote2019-01-09 08:57 pm
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This speaks to me
https://drewdevault.com/2019/01/01/Patches-welcome.html
THIS is how I hope to approach FOSS, and my use and contributions to it.
I think there’s a certain mode of thinking which lends itself to a more productive free software community and a happier free software contributor. Free software is not theirs - it’s ours. ... These projects belong to everyone. That includes you! In this way, we reap the benefits of open source, but we also shoulder the responsibilities. I’m not referring to some abstract sense of reponsibility, but the tangible ones, like fixing bugs or developing new features.
One of the great things about this community is how easy it is to release your software under a FOSS license. You have no obligations to the software once it’s released, except the obligations you hold yourself to (i.e. “if this software makes my computer work, and I want to use my computer, I need to keep this software in good working order”). It’s important for users to remember that they’re not entitled to anything other than the rights laid out in the license, too. You’re not entitled to bug fixes or new features - you’re empowered by free software to make those changes yourself.
Sometimes ... someone says something like “oh, it’s a bug in libwayland”. My response is generally along the lines of “I guess you’re writing a libwayland patch then!” ... If a problem in some FOSS project, be it a bug or a conspicuously missing feature, is in the way of your goals, it’s your problem.
...
The entire world of free software is your oyster. Nothing is off-limits: if it’s FOSS, you can work on it. Try not to be intimidated by unknown programming languages, unfamiliar codebases, or a lack of time. You’ll pick up the new language sooner than you think1, all projects are similar enough when you get down to it, and small amounts of work done infrequently adds up over a long enough time period. FOSS doesn’t have to move quickly, it just has to keep moving. ...
THIS is how I hope to approach FOSS, and my use and contributions to it.