I just observed this in the Github repo and on the forums of a reasonably popular open source software. I am not going to name the software at this time because the pattern described is not unique to it.
A person has a question about a particular issue, and does what is often recommended to do, or observed, when people have an issue with OSS software. They ask on the relevant Github repo.
The response: please use our forums, this is for bug reports only.
So the person goes to the forums and asks the same question.
Response: fill out the help request template, it’s in our forum rules.
Person replies with more (and sufficient) relevant information.
Response: you didn’t fill out the help request template. It’s against the forum rules to not use the help request template. Thread closed.
The help request template: Describe your problem. Add error messages or log output. Name the version you’re using. Describe how you installed the software. Provide the complete config file. Link relevant resources you’ve used.
🤦
Most of this template was completely irrelevant to the question the person had. But the forum rules state that if you don’t completely fill out the template, you can’t expect to be helped.
If you do this, FUCK YOU. This is gatekeeping of the worst order. The user may be unfamiliar with your software, Github, your forum system, and what you’re doing is the equivalent of spitting in their face and slamming the door on them because they didn’t intuitively know the secret door code. And now you’ve likely not only put them off using your software, but also from seeking help with other OSS projects in the future. In other words, you’ve left a lasting - and detrimental - impression of OSS. Congratulations.
I get it, you get a lot of requests for help and you don’t want people to waste your time. So you cook up these templates to make people give you all the relevant information upfront. But the thing is: sometimes someone really just has a question, and making them provide all this information is not only unnecessary friction, but makes you no more able to help them than you were without it. You're raising the barrier to entry without tangible benefit.
Yes, you’re a volunteer. You’re doing this in your own time, for free. You get a lot of the same requests. News flash: that’s the nature of the game. You want people to spoon-feed you so you can avoid repeatedly spoon-feeding them - but the difference is, you know (or should know) how to spoon-feed people; they may not. And it’s always better to help and provide gentle guidance for future behaviour, than to… not.
Do better, so they can do better.
#rant #foss
