Making Sandwiches

I make sandwiches for a living. I love making sandwiches. I love it so much that sometimes, after work, I make more sandwiches because I enjoy a good home-made sandwich and the process of layering butter, salad and cheese on bread. I believe others might enjoy my sandwiches as well. So I make a couple extra and give them away for free for whoever is hungry.

You take one of the free sandwiches. Because you’re hungry, and a sandwich will fill your tummy. You take a bite but you realise you don’t like the salami. Its taste doesn’t match the palette of the other free food you’ve got on your plate. Or you realise it was made a while ago and it’s not 100% fresh. Maybe it’s even off and you shouldn’t eat it, really.

What do you do? The sandwich was free after all. Do you complain about that free sandwich I made, not specifically for you, but according to my taste and dietary requirements, when I wanted the sandwich. Do you ask me to make another one. Or do you stop eating the sandwich and look for a different form of nutrition? I thought so.

When you write open-source software it’s the opposite. Many developers appreciate the effort. But there’s always one who complains the software doesn’t fulfil their very specific needs, or it doesn’t play well with that obscure framework you’re using, or the project is outdated. I understand it’s frustrating but none of this is my fault. Instead of comlaining to open-source maintainers, look for an alternative, or try making it yourself.

Food you made yourself usually tastes better too.