The open source paradox
I keep seeing these kind of threads popping up here on hacker news, where people are lamenting the pains and sufferings of open source maintainers.<p>I agree about the base problem: open source maintainers do lots of work and they are not getting paid. Sometimes people come to expect them to work for them for free! What entitlement, huh?<p>And this lack of concrete reward makes it easy to burn out unless you really care about what you do.<p>This is a real problem. Sure.<p>But here on Hacker news lately I’ve gotten the impression that everyone expects every open source maintainer to be burned out and suffering, and that we should always act as if they are.<p>People should tiptoe around and be afraid to interact, lest they <i>disturb</i> this poor and over-worked maintainer!<p>Needless to say, I think that’s wrong. Open-source thrives on positivity, on energy and a willingness to contribute.<p>We shouldn’t make people who wants to contribute afraid to do so, simply because <i>some</i> maintainers are burnt out.<p>I’d rather say the opposite: if you as a maintainer no longer see joy in what you do, you should step aside or at least take a break. We don’t need you as a force taking energy <i>away</i> from open-source.<p>We’re thankful for what you’ve contributed in the past, no doubt. But your legacy will probably do better if you let someone else carry the flame from now on, or at least for a while.<p>There’s no shame in taking a break.<p>Disclaimer: open-source enthusiast, contributor and maintainer.