Support

Hello there!

Thank you for choosing to be a part of this project. Your interest and engagement are greatly appreciated. I'd like to share some insights into how we manage support and development.

Please keep in mind that the folks working on this project are enthusiasts with various commitments such as work, family, and other passions. While we're thrilled to have you onboard, it's essential to note that we do not provide traditional customer service. Instead, we aim to foster a collaborative community where questions, contributions, and issues are welcomed.

Issues
- Questions, Bug Reports, and Feature Requests
Contributions - Supporting Development
Support Process
Versioning

Issues

Questions, Bug Reports, and Feature Requests

Please take a moment to check our issue templates. It offers guidance on how to structure your questions, reports, or feature requests effectively. Remember, detailed descriptions and context help us understand and address your needs better. Issues like "it doesn't work" can be quite challenging to tackle, so a bit more detail goes a long way!

Contributions - Supporting Development

Contributions are a fantastic way to enhance our project, and we genuinely appreciate your efforts. While we can't promise that every contribution will be accepted, we're always excited to see your ideas. If you're unsure about a particular contribution, feel free to start by opening an issue to discuss it. This way, we can collaborate effectively and avoid any disappointments.

For detailed information on how to contribute, check out our CONTRIBUTING.md guide.

Support Process

Our support journey comprises different stages that reflect the project's state and level of readiness.

Experimental -> Regular Support -> Archived -> Deleted
                                            -> Regular Support (Very Unlikely)
             -> Deleted

Or

Many projects will skip the experimental stage and you can therefore expect an increased level of support (or at the very minimum some notice before the project is removed if it reaches the end of support)

Regular Support -> Archived -> Deleted
                            -> Regular Support (Very Unlikely)

Experimental Stage

Consider this stage as the project's alpha phase, where we're fine-tuning things and ironing out the creases. You'll spot the Experimental tag, indicating its early days. Here's what you should know:

What to Expect

The repository functions just like any other GitHub public repository.
Contributions might not be accepted during this phase.
Issues might receive limited attention.
There's a possibility of the repository being removed with short notice.

Why We Have This Stage

During the experimental phase, the project is in its proof-of-concept stage. Sometimes, it might not align with our goals or become challenging to maintain effectively. Contributions aren't always accepted, primarily because of the potential risk of removal. Your time is valuable.

How to Handle This Phase

If you find the experimental project useful, I recommend cloning or forking it to ensure you have a copy.

Looking Ahead

Two paths lie ahead:

The repository might be deleted (with a possible notice in the readme).
The repository proves its worth and transitions to regular support (details here).

Regular Support

Welcome to the beta and maintenance stages of our project!

What to Expect

The project operates as you'd anticipate.
Contributions are welcome during this phase.

Future Outlook

There are two possibilities:

The repository continues in this state.
The repository reaches the end of support and moves to an archived state.

Let's Keep It Going

To minimize the chance of a project being archived, engagement matters. We consider various factors, including GitHub stars, downloads, reviews, and project traffic. If you find a project useful, engaging with it boosts its longevity.

Archived Stage

This stage occurs when regular maintenance ends for a project (not experimental).

What to Expect

The repository, issues, pull requests, labels, milestones, projects, wiki, releases, commits, tags, branches, reactions, and comments become read-only.
The repository can still be forked and cloned, and the license still applies.

Future Plans

In time:

The repository will be deleted after three months.
The repository will be unregistered from Codacy and CI/CD after one month.
Un-archiving the repository is unlikely, but not impossible.

Versioning

Our versioning approach typically follows:

FullYear.Version.BugFix

For more insights, check out DEVELOPMENT INFO.

Thank you for being a part of our journey. Your support is what makes this project come alive! 🌟