> Don't -ever- expect anyone to contribute for free. When they do, treat them special instead of taking them for granted.
Right, but apply the same measure to developers too.
We often get into the habit of taking some contributor's work for granted, be we shouldn't. Every patch should be treated with the same respect and gratitude. If it's somebody's seven-hundredth patch, you don't have to say "thank you" for every patch, but you should still keep that humble attitude.
While I don't think you should thank for them every patch directly, I think there should be praise for their work occasionally.
WINE's release emails always specified who did what, and that's not quite a 'thank you' but it's definitely more acknowledgement than I sometimes see.
It doesn't even have to be the project leader or other developers doing the praising. A proper bug reporting system will give the users a chance to give that praise as well, thought the leader/developers should also be thankful for the contributions.
It's not easy, and I'm not trying to say it is, but it needs more attention.
Right, but apply the same measure to developers too.
We often get into the habit of taking some contributor's work for granted, be we shouldn't. Every patch should be treated with the same respect and gratitude. If it's somebody's seven-hundredth patch, you don't have to say "thank you" for every patch, but you should still keep that humble attitude.