Debian discusses Discourse

There's a pretty substantial gap between "configuring [the] stupid email client just the way the reviewer likes it" and "semi-effectively operating an email client"

The objection folks seem to have is that email is used _at all_, because *waah, it's too much effort*. Meanwhile they will hand out their email address or phone number to every app or website they encounter, and click on the link that comes back to "confirm their account". Congratulations, that's the total effort required to subscribe to a mailing list, and unlike the "messages from our selected partners" the apps or websites send in buckets, the mailing list will have clear subject lines -- and far more often than not, be considerably less voliminous.

But sure, let's scrap email for github-style PRs. And guess what? All three of the F/OSS projects I actively work on have github and/or gitlab mirrors. One has seen a total of 4 PRs opened, and 3 of those ended up abandoned because the submitter didn't respond. The fourth was eventually resubmitted via the "proper" channels, but still didn't make it in because the submitter didn't follow through with requested changes. Meanwhile, the other two projects have yet to see a single PR opened. Indeed, one project (for which I am the sole developer) has yet to see anyone click on the "fork" button, and, over the course of _eight years_, has received only one patch of any substance and maybe three or four trivial few-liners.

The overwhelming reason project X doesn't get drive-by contributions is that there isn't anyone (beyond the 1-4 people already involved) that gives enough of a f*ck to even look at the code, much less make changes to it. If local changes do get made, IME the biggest impediment to contributing upstream are actually corporate policies and processes that default to "don't share anything, ever."

As evidenced by the steady trickle of folks contacting me over email with questions, highly-technically-challennged support requests, or the rare "offering to test", "semi-effectively operating an email client" is a pretty low barrier indeed, I find it pretty hilarious that clueless end-users can manage this just fine but this mythical pool of hyper-talented developers that would be all over my code can't.

Indeed, it seems that the best way to generate contributions is to make your software crappier, because folks simply don't notice or care about the stuff that JustWorks(tm).