The Price of Support

When Help Turns Hostile and Donations Become Demands

It's concerning how online communities are changing. Support groups, which should be safe and helpful spaces, often become places where people are bullied or ignored. This is especially true on Telegram, where asking for help can sometimes lead to ridicule or simply being overlooked. This makes it harder for people to get the support they need.

Also, there's a growing debate about how developers fund their projects. Some developers seem overly focused on money. They might say something like,

"I made this project for you, so you need to donate regularly, or I'll stop working on it."

This can feel unfair and create pressure. If you started a project as a hobby, driven by passion and personal interest, you shouldn't necessarily expect to be paid like it's a full-time job with a guaranteed salary. If you no longer want to work on the project or your priorities change, it's perfectly acceptable to simply stop development. The beauty of open-source is that someone else in the community might be inspired to pick it up and keep it going.

If you're doing something genuinely good and providing real value to the community, you don't need to pressure or guilt-trip people into donating. If your work is truly valuable and appreciated, people will donate willingly and organically. Many talented and dedicated developers share their amazing work without constantly asking for money or resorting to manipulative tactics. It's completely okay and understandable to ask for donations if you genuinely need help covering costs, such as server expenses. However, treating donations like a regular payment or a guaranteed source of income is arguably wrong and can change the dynamic of the community in a negative way.

Sadly, this attitude is becoming increasingly common, which can be discouraging for both developers and users.

I might get hate for posting this, but the real question is: Do I care?

🧁@MeowDump