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by studius 1984 days ago
> Free users don't care if you tell them to fuck off.

You don't have to and shouldn't respond in any specific time period. Even if you're the sole maintainer of a critical project and you imagine the world wants your head, the world has to wait sometimes.

However, users may abandon projects where support tickets go untended, maybe even writing a post about it in the process[1], so try to respond when you can, unless you've abandoned the project.

As a representative for a FOSS project or even a bystander commenting on a PR, respond professionally and succinctly.

If you shouldn't accept a PR, don't.

If it's a request that seems hostile to the project, and you have time, either leave it for a little while to cool off, try to serve it with professionalism without getting off-topic, or at worst close it.

If needed, add a "code of conduct"[2] so that you can "encourage a pleasant and productive environment by responding to disruptive behavior in a fast, fair way"[3]. Note that instituting one before it's needed, while seeming proactive, may put off some users.

If you screw-up, apologize briefly, then fix it or move on.

[1]- https://medium.com/free-code-camp/why-im-not-using-your-gith...

[2]- https://docs.github.com/en/free-pro-team@latest/github/build...

[3]- https://docs.github.com/en/free-pro-team@latest/github/build...