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0 pointsdmuth9y ago0 comments

^ this. There is absolutely no reason to not be answering emails, even if to say, "I'm really swamped, and need help."

I don't mean to denigrate you, but I must be candid here: hoarding admin rights so that only you have them and no one else can get any work done is simply not acceptable in a team environment.

Going forward, I would recommend taking a look through other projects you may be involved with, and make sure that you are not the only person with admin access. If nothing else, it would increase the "bus factor" to greater than 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_factor

Good luck.

0 comments

junkster789y ago

Totally agree. Even worst, the community has already forked and is getting aligned behind https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs, his reappearance puts FindBugs in a very dangerous place. It either stays forked, with split efforts and APIs diverging forward, or it's shutdown to trust Bill again and hope for the best.

I for one have lost all trust on his ability to lead the project after such long absence, and the fact that he only reappeared after this hit HN, and only to respond here, to me is an indication he cares more about what people may be thinking / saying of him, than the well being of FindBugs.

I fear, the only way for FindBugs to stay alive, is for Bill to do what he probably should have done a long time ago: step down.

issaria9y ago

This is also the problem for other projects, the leaders' unwilling to giveup their position even they are inactive for a very long time and just hoping someone could help rescuing the dead horse.

https://github.com/jimbaker/talks/blob/master/jython-talk-py...

danielheath9y ago

There is absolutely no reason to expect volunteers to owe you their time or responses.

I don't mean to denigrate you, but I must be candid here: demanding work from others without putting in the hard yards yourself is simply not acceptable.

Going forward, I would recommend taking a look at your written communication, and make sure that you are being fair and kind.

Good luck.

enraged_camel9y ago

He didn't demand "work", he simply pointed out that hibernating or abandoning a project many people have come to rely on without arranging for others to (at least temporarily) take over is irresponsible and causes a lot of frustration.

dmuthOP9y ago

Pretty much that. And to elaborate, there is no shame at all asking for help. I can think of a few ways in which to do this:

- If you are the sole maintainer of a project, putting up a note in the README asking for a co-maintainer or someone to take over the project entirely.

- Responding to emails with, "I'm swamped/I don't think I can do this right now, can you help/would you be willing take on this role?" Totally acceptable. There are lots of eager developers out there who would be willing to contribute to an open source project if they could.

- Posting on HN asking if anyone is willing to help out. :-)

I get that sometimes stuff happens in real life--illness, working long hours, taking care of children or family members--these are all perfectly valid reasons for not being able to put in the time needed to work on an open source project. However, the developer community cannot offer its help if said help is not asked for.

lukeschlather9y ago

Answering emails is work. It's also often a lot harder than it sounds at first blush.

1 more reply

aub3bhat9y ago

I don't know why you are being downvoted, but I agree with you. The level of entitlement expressed on this forum is off the charts. This behavior is reflected in this case or in case of RethinkDB or any other startup which is closing down, where the frame of mind or needs of the people who build/maintain are secondary to those of customer/users. Its quite a paradox.

rootlocus9y ago

> The level of entitlement expressed on this forum is off the charts.

This is ridiculous. Expecting the maintainer who hasn't contributed for over a year (hasn't given any life signs or shown any interest) to give admin rights to someone who genuinely cares about the project isn't entitlement. It's the absolute minimum he could do to keep the project alive at the expense of other peoples time and effort.

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inimino9y ago

> There is absolutely no reason to not be answering emails

Sometimes there is.

You can express your disappointment in how a project is managed without implying that someone else isn't living their life properly.

AstralStorm9y ago

Yes, we all need to prevent speaking to prevent implications. ;)

Or are you implying the author is so thin skinned he cannot take a bit of judgement?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

junkster789y ago

I fear, the only way for FindBugs to stay alive, is for Bill to do what he probably should have done a long time ago: step down.

issaria9y ago

This is also the problem for other projects, the leaders' unwilling to giveup their position even they are inactive for a very long time and just hoping someone could help rescuing the dead horse.

https://github.com/jimbaker/talks/blob/master/jython-talk-py...

danielheath9y ago

There is absolutely no reason to expect volunteers to owe you their time or responses.

I don't mean to denigrate you, but I must be candid here: demanding work from others without putting in the hard yards yourself is simply not acceptable.

Going forward, I would recommend taking a look at your written communication, and make sure that you are being fair and kind.

Good luck.

enraged_camel9y ago

dmuthOP9y ago

Pretty much that. And to elaborate, there is no shame at all asking for help. I can think of a few ways in which to do this:

- If you are the sole maintainer of a project, putting up a note in the README asking for a co-maintainer or someone to take over the project entirely.

- Posting on HN asking if anyone is willing to help out. :-)

lukeschlather9y ago

Answering emails is work. It's also often a lot harder than it sounds at first blush.

1 more reply

aub3bhat9y ago

rootlocus9y ago

> The level of entitlement expressed on this forum is off the charts.

1 more reply

inimino9y ago

> There is absolutely no reason to not be answering emails

Sometimes there is.

You can express your disappointment in how a project is managed without implying that someone else isn't living their life properly.

AstralStorm9y ago

Yes, we all need to prevent speaking to prevent implications. ;)

Or are you implying the author is so thin skinned he cannot take a bit of judgement?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse