Is there a platform where regular people can suggest FOSS ideas to developers? I have a great idea and want to contribute to the community. Any recommendations?
Is there a platform where regular people can suggest FOSS ideas to developers? I have a great idea and want to contribute to the community. Any recommendations?
Software development is a huge amount of work and the idea makes up maybe a 1/10 of a percent of the whole work. Every dev has more than enough ideas, what they are lacking is time to develop all of that.
Telling a dev about your great idea is usually similar to going to Mercedes and telling them your great idea, which is that they should make a green Ferrari with six wheels and a cardboard roof.
a) They got enough to do, they don’t require additional ideas
b) Ideas from non-devs are usually super high level (“make a Ferrari”), leave out anything that would make them worthwhile but instead include a lot of unfeasible details
Don’t take this offensive, it is not meant offensive.
But I have had so many people (mainly those with a business degree) tell me about the great ideas they had on the toilet. Most often with a “if you implement it, you can have 30% of the profit”. And of all of these ideas that non-IT people told me, I have yet to hear one that would be worthwhile implementing.
I hear you. But how can a dev have different perspectives on a problem and new insights on solving it if he/she doesn’t hear from (or study) users of already existing software?
Not talking about fun apps here. Only on problem solving ones.
That’s why the majority of FOSS out there are software/apps devs use (not especially for their work) for a reason.
Take my case. I am a long form writer and using my phone for that purpose (when nothing else is available) is a nightmare. If FOSS devs are not interested in that, they won’t bother. And I totally understand. They don’t owe common folks nothing. But when they do, it’s usually through their own understanding of the problem.
And people should come with a detailed description of the problem. Not their cringy ideas.