I beg you, if you are a developer of an open source app or program - add screenshots of your app to the README file. When looking for the perfect app, I had to install dozens of them just to see what the user interface looked like and whether it suits me. This will allow users to decide if the app they choose will suit them… Please, don’t think about it, just do it…
Also, installation instructions that don’t assume you’re already an expert.
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Yup, if I don’t see screenshots for a desktop applications, I don’t bother since the developer clearly doesn’t understand what they’re doing. It’s especially baffling when it’s a WM/DE. It’s really trivial effort too. If the devs don’t get this basic point, it’s going to reflect in their poorly designed UX/UI as well.
TURE…👍
You should open a PR. 🙂
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README.md TODOAdded a readme, boss
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No, wait, it should be done according to https://github.com/matiassingers/awesome-readme
Grnrrth is a FOSS native qualitivate built with the Jot framework. It comfortably handles 2NUT, xrr, .gif, and any other Banbo hierarchies in a windowed, cross-system integrated module.
You’ve heard of adjective foods? Get ready for adjective software!
It’s like I’m in the readme of every project I’ve stumbled across from Google to a forum to GitHub pathway…
And that’s what having a stroke sounds like
Dear open source app user: feel free to improve the README file of the projects you come across by adding a few screenshots you believe are relevant.
Although I understand the OP’s perspective open-source is a community effort and people should have a more proactive attitude and contribute when they feel things aren’t okay. Most open-source developers aren’t focused / don’t have time for how things look (or at least not on the beginning). If you’re a regular user and you can spend an hour taking a bunch of screenshots and improving a readme you’ll be making more for the future the project that you might think.
When the last big Twitter migration to Mastodon occurred there were a lot new users complaining about things like documentation, bugs, etc. Old users and FLOSS supporters kept pushing the “its open source, write a doc or fill out a bug ticket” and evem included documentation on how to do those tasks.
Most people just continued to complain. /facepalm
We just don’t live in a world where making the changes you want are encouraged. We have been thought to just accept whatever changes happen or at most file a suggestion that almost noone will listen to. Obviously open source is different but it’s still such a tiny minority compared to how the rest of the world functions
The big difference here is there is already this “learning curve” about the whole fediverse that people were struggling with that many of us wrote blog posts and had toot chains we’d forward explaining how this universe works. Adding in links and screen shots and templates for how to submit a bug…
…I hate saying this but the vast majority of people are just lazy. It’s not a culture issue or not something too difficult. People like to complain and not put in effort to things. People expect others to do things for them and don’t get that free comes with a cost.
FOSS isn’t really that small, it’s just that most people don’t do any type of investigation into what they use for technology. Much of what you use may have a for-profit company in front of it but huge parts of their products are open source andnyou can directly influence the products by actually engaging the projects themselves.
Yeah people are very much lazy and that’s fine, you just have to work around that and well culture is one way of getting people to do what should be done.
As you say Foss does impact quite a lot of those company products however what is the important part of the casual user is what and how they interact directly with the products and well at no point are they expected to directly impact the project, it’s just you use what you are given. That is why they have that people will do things for me mindset bc that is what happens with almost everything the use
This mentality explains a lot of open source.
Yeah, and please have EASY setup instructions or complied binaries.
Why is your name red?
Site mod, I mostly do the infra tho ❤️
So… can you unblock [email protected] and [email protected] so we can have free speech again? https://lemmy.world/post/3193108
As both user and developer - user CAN contribute but the developer/maintainer SHOULD add the screenshots.
There’s both an ignorance and fear barrier to that.
A lot of people don’t know they can, and don’t know how. And even the ones that do know, often worry their contributions would be shit.
And there’s folks that just don’t think the project would accept that kind of submission.
I’m not contradicting your suggestion! It’s a great thing to let people know that they can contribute without knowing how to code. Just adding in both an explanation as to why it’s so rare, and hopefully allaying some of those worries for passersby.
I think it depends on the project. Some projects are the author’s personal tools that they’ve put online in the off-chance it will be useful to others, not projects they are really trying to promote.
I don’t think we should expect that authors of repos go too out of their way in those cases as the alternative would just be not to publish them at all.
Totally agree
What if I do a PR for a program that isn’t even related to Linux and Linus still sniffs it out to tell me I’m a dingus :(
NGL I actually didn’t know that I can do such a thing. I do still kinda have a closed source mindset in that anything I use I cannot change or Influence. Like I knew that other people can do that but I didn’t know I can do that
Yeah, it’s a thing :)
I’ve only done it once, and it wasn’t pictures, it was rewriting a horrible section about how to install a program my cousin was trying to build. He abandoned it three months later, but still.
From what I’ve heard from people that code, it’s polite to approach whoever is maintaining the project before jumping in, and it makes sense so that nobody wastes resources on something that isn’t going to get used.
If the app sucks, few people will add the screenshots. Therefore, most apps without screenshots will suck. So new apps will need the developer to add screenshots, or people will assume it sucks.
And we’re back to square one. The developer has extra responsibility to highlight the features.
This is good advice, but having a screenie there in the first place might make someone more likely to try it out.
One thing though: I’m likely not to stop and consider looking closer at an app if I can’t judge if it’s going to be what I’m looking for. I’m not going to go over random GitHub repositories and create screenshots for their projects. So if the assumption is that the user contributes screenshots I don’t think it will ever change anything for the majority of projects.
Hey, all you folks ought to get together and publish a guide to writing good FOSS documentation,
A README file is usually comprised of text.
Other than that - usually if it has a webpage, it has some screenshots.
README markdown files allow for inline image links to be “expanded”
Who reads README’s anyway? Aren’t they like instruction manuals? You only read them once its broken? :) Or maybe i should start reading instruction manuals…
Lots of projects are on GitHub or similar repositories and the landing page is usually the readme file as rendered markdown.
I appreciate your joke, I totally got if.
Mainly because my dad would do exactly that if he ever had to use github lol. I grew up watching him literally throw manuals aside, only to have me or my sister bring them back when he screwed up lol.
it’s the very first thing you see when you visit any project’s github page.
Nice! I can say i read important readme’s then :)
Bless you!
Too lazy to just look the UI up and you want others to waste their time giving you numerous UI screenshots. Hypocrite
a.) I’m not convinced you know what the word hypocrite means.
b.) More importantly, they didn’t ask for “numerous,” they asked for one.
c.) Searching for the UI on, say Google, can have, at best, mixed results. Ive done this, then DLed and tried out the program only to find a completely different UI.
d.) The dev adding one screenshot to their readme.md and a /media folder takes them only slightly longer than it takes potential users to look one up and maybe get a good result. Multiply that time by the number of potential users, and it’s obviously more efficient, and effective, for the dev to do it.
Stop being defensive. No one’s attacking you or any other dev. They’re making a request. Don’t like it? Don’t do it. Stop calling people names and trying to stir up drama.
Edit: formatting
A. When one makes a claim like that when nothing indicated such things, its accepted in the community of behavioral analysis that it was a projection
B. Its implied that there will be multiple and that’s irrelevant
C. That’s never happened Lol
D. Only takes you slightly longer to Google it too bitch. Don’t like what I’m saying you can also stfu hypocrite. You also admit its an attack, as is all criticism right after you deny it. I’m not defending anything, just pointimg out hypocrisy which seems to anger lazy fucks like you who want to leech from good developers like myself and can’t be arsed to Google a singe thing
I’m sorry, I’m just not seeing the hypocrisy.
What is hypocrisy is calling people lazy because they don’t want to do work for a project they’re not sure they even want to use, while also excusing same lazy behavior for someone who is interested enough in the project to develop it.
That’s how you’re being a hypocrite. Now, if you don’t mind, please explain how OP is one. Or I am, for that matter.
Also, I’m not angry. You’re some rando on lemmy and I’m not that invested. I suppose I care enough to reply, but get pissed off? Nah, bro. That’s all on you.
You both fit that definition, I don’t expect to be given screenshots nor do I hypocritically tell people they can shut up if they don’t like criticism. I’m not what I proclaim y’all are. You should really get better English and learn the meaning of basic words Lol. With the latter you once again appear to be projecting, When one makes a claim like that when nothing indicated such things, its accepted in the community of behavioral analysis that it was a projection. Also, have you showered at least in the past month? You should really try… 🤢
Oh! I get it! You’re just a troll!
Aw, man, I can’t believe I fell for that! Wow, you sure got me.
I mean, surely if you weren’t just a troll, you wouldn’t tell me I should “get better English [sic].” That’s a kind of hilarious gag right there.
Also, when I gave you an example of your hypocrisy, you basically responded with “Nuh-uh! You are!” with, like, no explanation! That’s hilarious!
Oh! And then you repeated the “the community of behavioral analysis” bit when I actually explained why you were being a hypocrite, so it totally didn’t apply anymore!
Ah, man. Good troll. I haven’t gotten suckered that well in a bit. Well, I got chat botted a couple weeks back, but that wasn’t nearly as funny.
I perfectly debunked your argument and my statement made perfect sense. It wasn’t just “No you!”. What a complete and utter projection. Cope harder. Maybe you’re the word parsing bot, When one makes a claim like that (Im a bot) when nothing indicated such things, its accepted in the community of behavioral analysis that it was a projection
I’m kinda done with you, child. But let’s do this:
its accepted in the community of behavioral analysis that it was a projection
Yeah. You said that. Three times.
What you’ve failed to notice is that you keep calling me, and OP, hypocrites with no supporting evidence. I provided an example of your hypocrisy and explained why it was hypocritical. You didn’t. So if anyone is making repeated unsubstantiated accusations, it’s you.
So, by your own argument the only one projecting here is you.
I perfectly debunked your argument and my statement made perfect sensse.
No, you didn’t. You posted a link to the definition of the word, and then said “oh, you totally did both those things” (I’m paraphrasing here.). You didn’t point out where I or OP said anything that remotely met the definition you posted. So, to use your own dipshitty quote:
When one makes a claim like that when nothing indicated such things, its accepted in the community of behavioral analysis that it was a projection.
You’ve repeatedly made the claim that OP and I are hypocrites. Nothing indicates that we are. So, you must be projecting, according to behavioral analysis.
Wait - are you not convinced just because I repeated myself? Welcome yo my world, kid. That’s all you’ve done this whole thread.
Oh, and you made an ad hominim attack against me questioning my personal grooming routine. So, there’s that too. Since you have zero information about my grooming routine, then, because…
When one makes a claim like that when nothing indicated such things, its accepted in the community of behavioral analysis that it was a projection.
… I have to conclude that you are projecting, and could probably use a bath. And maybe some time away from the internet, out from under your bridge.
Oh! I almost forgot! You insulted my grasp of English with poor English. So, yeah. If you’re gonna call someone’s grasp of a language into question as a pathetic attempt at looking smart, here are two good rules:
- Don’t. You don’t know if English is their first language, and even if it is, you just end up looking like an asshole
- If you absolutely insist on doing it, proofread your fucking post.
Ta. It’s been fun.
Sometimes I’d settled for a simple description of what the tool even is. Sometimes the readme is just straight into compilation steps and I feel like we’re rushing into something.
Foreplay is important! Gotta get me excited for that app.
🛠️ Building
To build the app install the
gametedependencies and run the followingmake child
A lot of documentation is like that.
Its terrible when the software is called some random word that has nothing to do with the programs functionality
I also hate it when it has a name that is a super common word or phrase. Our last 3 records management prograns at work have been like this, and their help fires are terrible to non existent. Good like trying to search the internet for information on the software with those common names. Even adding terms relevant to what the software does, didn’t help much.
(Apologies if this is terribly typed, I’ve got an impending migraine aura that stayed right as I hit reply and have lost a good chunk of my vision. I can’t see most of what I’m saying.)
Unrelated, but I used to get them often. I found one article about vitamin D deficiency as a potential cause, and figured, “what what hell”. Started taking 5000IU every day of the Swanson’s brand. It took a month or so, but I’ve been aura migraine free for months (still get migraines sometimes, but they’re MUCH less severe than they used to be and no auras). Ask your doctor first, in case you can’t take vitamin D, but it’s worth a try if it’s safe for you.
I actually know what causes most of mine, there are some nerves in my neck that get pinched/aggravated and trigger them. And for some reason, if I have multiple days in a row where I don’t get much sleep, those nerves get extra cranky. They are extra cranky right now.
I’m so so sorry! I guess, at lease, you know why. That’s something, right? Not really, but :shrug: seriously, I’m so sorry you’re going through that!
I totally agree that screenshots and a proper description of the app in the README are a must-have for all foss apps, but as a developer I know that most of the times you prefer use your time to add new features to your app rather then documenting existing ones…
Personally I’ll try to add them to all my future projects but what I would suggest to everyone who use and love a foss app is to check out its README and, if needed, submit a pull request with an updated version of it with screenshot etc (You don’t need to be a developer to do that and it can be really appreciated)
There’s an awful lot of comments in this post from people complaining that developers aren’t making their projects attractive and user friendly enough, or the READMEs descriptive enough.
Can I just say, as a developer with some open source projects on github, I don’t care; you’re not my intended audience.
I find this unnecessarily derisive. There are good reasons for a UI or README not being user-friendly, the top-most one being (imo) that it is really, really hard to get right, takes a lot of time and doesn’t primarily solve the problem the project was started for.
You mean you think I’m being derisive? I think it’s important to remind people that not every open source dev shares their priorities, or indeed any interest whatsoever in whether other people use their code.
This whole post is filled with a really disappointing amount of entitlement and lack of self-awareness.
I think you generally can’t know if someone shared their code with the intention that others may use it, but it’s a reasonable assumption.
I don’t care; you’re not my intended audience.That’s pretty ignorant
That’s quite an accusation. Can you elaborate further on that please.
No. (I don’t care; you’re not my intended audience.)
Anyone know of good Gitlab CI or GitHub actions for auto generating GUI screenshots and links them in the README? I only barely know testing tool and frameworks like OpenQA and Robot for GUI. Even better if we can get AVIF/GIF linked in there to see an app in motion.
Honestly though, documenting is a pain enough, I really don’t want to be doing screenshot walk throughs on anything I’m not paid to do.
I prefer install instructions. Not everything is in AUR.
