> 1. You don't know how "toxic" people really are. Some of them are nice, but just put no time/understanding into their internet communication. They write and forgot what they wrote a minute later.
A bit of a cop-out, IMHO. That's also true of real-life interactions: most people you'll talk to, you'll forget about 5 minutes later. I honestly don't remember if I said anything in particular to the corner store lady just yesterday, and I see her every other day. If I was a jerk to her, putting in thought or not, I was the asshole, final. Seriously, it's not that hard not being an asshole, just... don't be.
> 2. If they really need to learn something, talking to them politely "Thanks for the suggestion but...", "Could you please..." etc. will help over time. Not doing something in the fear of rewarding their behaviour is way too complex to understand.
Sure, treat people with respect. However, I'm not convinced it would be that guy's responsibility not to hurt someone's feelings, especially when that person was a jerk in the first place. I don't think we owe respect to someone who was disrespectful. The whole point is that dealing with it is a chore; having to take the time to educate people on their own behavior doesn't make it easier. I just think it shouldn't be _expected_ of maintainers to have to deal with it at all: simply closing the issue or ignoring the request should be seen as a fine response to asshole behavior.
A bit of a cop-out, IMHO. That's also true of real-life interactions: most people you'll talk to, you'll forget about 5 minutes later. I honestly don't remember if I said anything in particular to the corner store lady just yesterday, and I see her every other day. If I was a jerk to her, putting in thought or not, I was the asshole, final. Seriously, it's not that hard not being an asshole, just... don't be.
> 2. If they really need to learn something, talking to them politely "Thanks for the suggestion but...", "Could you please..." etc. will help over time. Not doing something in the fear of rewarding their behaviour is way too complex to understand.
Sure, treat people with respect. However, I'm not convinced it would be that guy's responsibility not to hurt someone's feelings, especially when that person was a jerk in the first place. I don't think we owe respect to someone who was disrespectful. The whole point is that dealing with it is a chore; having to take the time to educate people on their own behavior doesn't make it easier. I just think it shouldn't be _expected_ of maintainers to have to deal with it at all: simply closing the issue or ignoring the request should be seen as a fine response to asshole behavior.