[juicy-fruit]

Having a popular open source project is a pain in the ass. At some point the happiness from seeing people use your project turns to annoyance once you become the janitor and problem solver to people who won't take 1 minute to read the README. However, I honestly appreciate people who create open source software and answer all issues and questions.

GitHub should have a Q/A section on repos so that frequently asked questions can be answered there instead of having someone open the same issue every few months.

[vvoyer]

I did not mention it in the article, but it's also completely fine to abandon your own project if you state so and wait for anyone willing to maintain it.

There's no shame in ignoring feedback in open-source if that's a struggle on your side, health before open-source :)

[ishbits]

I’m a full time paid open source developer. About 40% of my time is reviewing pull requests these days. Most of these are meaningful contributions. And while it can be a pain in the ass it is community building.

[samschooler]

I also maintained a relatively popular Bukkit (minecraft server) plugin a few years ago. I had to abandon it because it really does just become too much fielding the unnecessary repetitive support. On top of trying to keep up with API changes on bukkit while also trying to go to school.

As I was writing this I realized I am describing running a business, with everything except payment.

[on_and_off]

Indeed. I am on the watcher list of a project I use a lot and contribute to.

I don't know how the main maintainer can answer so many stupid questions in a polite way.

99% of the answers are either in the ample doc of the project or a google search away.

I am not even sure how to curb this.

[VBprogrammer]

Seems to me that this is an opportunity for someone who wants to contribute to a project but lacks the technical skills to do so.