Great post! I have "joined" the Open Source movement, if I may describe it like that, about 2 years ago, after I started using Firefox. I felt I owed back to the community and decided that I had to do something to repay it; so, I picked up programming as a hobby.
I naively expected to receive *many* emails following the first few releases of my original pet project (rur-ple). Other than those from the developpers of Guido van Robot (whom I had contacted), I got none... Eventually, I got one from a Spanish user who submitted a Spanish translation of the interface. Then, I got a couple of comments from other users, including one teacher who was using it in the classroom. That's very few.
My project is very targeted; your various utilities have a much broader appeal and I'd have expected *you* would have gotten *tons* of feeback!
If I think of my own communication trail, I have contacted perhaps 3 or 4 authors to give them thanks and offer words of encouragements or suggestions. Again, that's very few compared with the number of programs I have downloaded.
My initial reaction to your announcement that you would sell Movable Python was *not* positive. After thinking about it, I realised that it made sense. I don't need (for now) something like Movable Python, as I only program as a hobby on my own computer. However, I would pay the small amount you ask for it if I ever need it; I've spent far more on books that I've had really very little need for.
Like you, I have contributed financially to only one open source project last year, and it was only as a result of a daily use (the project was spe). Still, I am bothered by the not-so-low-key money request from that project lately.
I think that there are two main types of users: those that say "it's free, it's mine, society owes me" ... and of course, you don't hear from them. The other type is quietly grateful and feel respectful of the privacy of the author and assume that the author is already deluged with emails everyday.
Sorry for the long comment. Good luck with Movable Python!
It looks like I'm in a tiny minority, frequently giving money to a number of projects and causes. I think I'll publish a log of my contributions on my web site, to encourage others to do the same (and to remind myself to keep doing so).
During the years, I've also contributed comments and patches to a number of open source projects; I wonder whether it could be useful to list those too...
Thanks for your comments Andre (and Nicola!).
I'm sure lots of people are grateful for open source projects, even ones that are just average (like mine). As an 'author' I'm always grateful for feedback I get.
Fuzzyman
Commenting by HaloScan
