> Is it really that hard to get people don't write open source to solve your problems?
Yes. There is a persistent set of well-intentioned but clueless people.
> What state of mind makes people believe they are entitled to someone else's time?
"I want the software to work. You wrote it, you need to fix it! It's your problem. What's wrong with you? Why won't your software work? I need it for a deadline! Please fix it now!"
I've been running an open source project for ~15 years, with many millions of running installations. The only solution I've found is to ignore these people. The "d" key comes in handy. Where that isn't possible, I ban/block them.
The level of cluelessness can be seen in the following typical exchange:
- user engages in anti-social activity
- I say "stop or you will be banned"
- user repeats the anti-social activity, and calls me names for "threatening" him.
These people don't even realize that annoying the mailing list administrator is unproductive. It's like their psychology is missing a reward/punishment feedback loop which normal people have.
Yes. There is a persistent set of well-intentioned but clueless people.
> What state of mind makes people believe they are entitled to someone else's time?
"I want the software to work. You wrote it, you need to fix it! It's your problem. What's wrong with you? Why won't your software work? I need it for a deadline! Please fix it now!"
I've been running an open source project for ~15 years, with many millions of running installations. The only solution I've found is to ignore these people. The "d" key comes in handy. Where that isn't possible, I ban/block them.
The level of cluelessness can be seen in the following typical exchange:
- user engages in anti-social activity
- I say "stop or you will be banned"
- user repeats the anti-social activity, and calls me names for "threatening" him.
These people don't even realize that annoying the mailing list administrator is unproductive. It's like their psychology is missing a reward/punishment feedback loop which normal people have.