Especially relevant right now as we discuss funding as one way companies can support their #opensource dependencies. I share tips for using cash effectively even when it isn't enough for full-time employment.
What kind of trust does a project #maintainer need to have in a new co-maintainer? To get better at #opensource#sustainability, we need to improve at recruiting, training, & promoting new leaders.
I cover attributes to check for.
I mine 4 comparable situations for assessment ideas, & explain how to reduce how much trust you NEED to give by promoting someone.
Little tip for when you're suggesting features to a project: "Feature Idea" sounds so much nicer than "Feature Request". Rather than sounding like "I want this, this is an order!", it's more like "Hey, this would be cool, what do you think?"
This also goes out to all the maintainers creating issue labels, by the way.
You make the leap of faith that this stranger will stick around and be responsive for weeks/months of intermittent communication.
Or you don't. You ignore the patch, or leave it for a "later" that never comes. Or you explicitly say it's not good enough & you'd rather do it yourself, & close the thread.
New blog post on user support frustration, its causes, and how we could build the "infrastructure of equanimity" in #opensource, including ideas for potential cross-project tools & practices.
Shout-outs to @davidism, Heidi Waterhouse, @offby1, @jacob, Nicole Harris, @bernard, + @georgia for work & conversations that I built on in this piece.