Open Source is About People
Behind every line of code is a human being. Most maintainers are volunteers working in their free time. Kindness is your most important tool.
"Treat others as you would like to be treated."
Communication Templates
Not sure what to say? Use these templates to sound professional.
Asking to work on an issue
Asking for help
Handling Rejection
Sometimes your PR will be closed or rejected. This is normal.
"Out of Scope": The feature doesn't fit the project's goals. It's not about your code quality.
"Duplicate": Someone else fixed it first. Bad luck, but you still learned!
The Response: "Thanks for the feedback! I understand. Is there another issue I could help with?"
Code of Conduct (CoC)
Most projects have a CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md file. It defines acceptable behavior.
Zero Tolerance
Harassment, discrimination, and trolling are never okay. Maintainers have the right to ban toxic users.