
GitHub 101: How to not give constructive feedback - reimertz
https://github.com/iCHAIT/awesome-macOS/pull/452
======
dozzie
Well, from afar it seems the maintainer is right. Showing flags for different
timezones _is_ a learning project.

~~~
reimertz
I won't argue about the simplicity of the implementation. People seem to enjoy
the app and that is enough for me.

The issue here is how maintainers act. I personally think you have
responsibilities when jumping on as a core maintainer; one of them is to act
respectfully towards others.

If this would be said in person, it would be considered extremely rude to my
standards, especially since he lack context.

If this would've been me 4 years ago when I was learning to code, it would
have been devastating for my motivation and joy for the project. As a core
maintainer, you need to take this into account.

Don't you agree?

~~~
dozzie
> one of [maintainer's responsibilities] is to act respectfully towards
> others.

Depends on what "respectfully" means. He shot down your pull request straight,
fast, and with clear reasons. He respected your time.

> If this would be said in person, it would be considered extremely rude to my
> standards, especially since he lack context.

Well, you failed to provide any, so don't complain that he lacked it.

And he wasn't rude. He was harsh and blunt, but those are different things.
Maybe it's you who was too sheltered? Give this idea a thought or two.

And then, internet is not an inherently nice place, not more than any other
aspect of life. Learn how to receive harsh treatment without whining, because
it happens and is not an event worth spending much of attention.

> If this would've been me 4 years ago when I was learning to code, it would
> have been devastating for my motivation and joy for the project. As a core
> maintainer, you need to take this into account.

Well, no. It's submitter's job to ensure he won't get devastated if it turns
out his work is crap or if the judging person happens to be simply a jerk. If
the submitter is too fragile to handle that, he shouldn't submit his work for
judgement in the first place. There are dedicated places that are intended to
provide encouragement, and this project was not one of them.

Also, maintainers usually receive too much sub-par third party work to be nice
and encouraging to everybody. It's very, very tiring.

~~~
reimertz
First, I want to thank you for having this discussion, it sure is rewarding
discussing.

> Depends on what "respectfully" means. He shot down your pull request
> straight, fast, and with clear reasons. He respected your time.

I agree to disagree. I both contribute and run several OSS projects. This is
not acting respectfully based on my previous interactions. We are not talking
about facts here but personal opinions. That is why you have to be thoughtful
of how you act.

> Well, you failed to provide any, so don't complain that he lacked it.

Due to the PR template, I think it's fair for me to assume I provided enough
context for a yes/no answer. I did not expect a review.

There is no way I could have given him enough context for me to feel such
response being justified. Again, did not ask for an review.

> And he wasn't rude. He was harsh and blunt, but those are different things.
> Maybe it's you who was too sheltered? Give this idea a thought or two.

> And then, internet is not an inherently nice place, not more than any other
> aspect of life. Learn how to receive harsh treatment without whining,
> because it happens and is not an event worth spending much of attention.

Fair points but also based on the assumption I lack previous experience. That
is not true. It is my previous experiences I utilize to know when I should
speak up, so please don't equalize my response with whining.

Furthermore, why should we ever accept, to our own standards, bad behavior?

> Well, no. It's submitter's job to ensure he won't get devastate ..

Again, based on my previous interactions, this is to normal, and therefore I
speak up.

> Also, maintainers usually receive too much sub-par third party work to be
> nice and encouraging to everybody. It's very, very tiring.

I know this myself but it's not an excuse for being rude, harsh or blunt. Find
more contributors, deprecate the project. A bunch of things you can do before
turning your frustrations towards the community.

