nostr:npub1qxd2t6easjh75zd73vlk23ejfza7vn6u9rn28vu7klr7wdrqdgfsfusqjl Do add a bit more to this interesting discussion, there is also another dimension, especially in bigger Free software projects (looking at you, #GNU) - and especially in the C world.
These projects are often made up of a community of self-proclaimed "elite hackers". They pretend to be open, but they don't want contributions. They make it so hard to contribute, that it is almost impossible to "get in". Look at the FSF/GNU, they really suffer from that.
And when you dare to propose an idea and send a patch, you risk of being publicily ridiculed at best, or at least ignored. Or someone is screaming at you: "shut up".
I gave up on trying to contribute to bigger projects very fast. I'm not an "elite hacker". Running this instance is my way of contributing in a way, no GNU hacker can tell me how inferior my contribution is.