Looking back, I've written some regrettable github issues with a lack of respect for the maintainers.
What I've learnt is that if you want something done then ask politely, if you want something done now then try and do it yourself. That's the inherent beauty of open source.
If you want something done, do it yourself or hire someone to do it. There is no implicit reason for you to share your desire with the maintainer, unless you have a working agreement with them or would like to initiate one.
If you consider what you want and you think that it clearly aligns with the maintainer’s needs, then consider sharing your ‘want’ along with an explanation of why you think it’s valuable for their needs.
If you can’t figure out what their needs are, and you can’t provide an explanation for why this is important to them, then there’s no reason for you to bring it up to them at all.
(This will seem abrupt, but it’s not meant to be hurtful in any way - I’m just literal and sociology-ish. I did my best to be clear and kind about my view. No harm intended, apologies if any caused.)
What if we required that people leave videos instead of writing up issues? I'm not seriously proposing that, but it's harder to be a jackass when speaking than writing. Especially to someone's face.
Funnily enough I often have the opposite issue. I will sometimes start writing up a bug report, spend a couple of hours trying to get my thoughts down on paper, then give up because I have neither the time nor energy to finish. I kind of wish there was an option to submit a voice recording along with some code snippets :(
True, it's not really a workable idea. My point is that text communication encourages jackassery, and many people don't think about that until they consider just how ridiculous or obnoxious their words sound when spoken aloud to somebody's face.
It helps convey some intent. Hm, that would actually be interesting. A browser plugin that automatically inserts emojis to convey your current emotions or feelings. You can set it yourself, it may learn from your interactions too.
Video can be costly, especially in countries where data is still expensive. It can be a barrier to allowing more diverse communities to also contribute unfortunately.
What I've learnt is that if you want something done then ask politely, if you want something done now then try and do it yourself. That's the inherent beauty of open source.