Comment by 1letterunixname

The problem from the maintainer side is:

0. Don't give away something and expect tips, donations, or anything else because it will only lead to resentment. If you voluntarily give something away, you basically lose all control of how it's used in the real world. If someone intends to make money from code, then OSS is probably the wrong approach.

The challenges from the user side are:

1. Donate time, money, and effort based on utility and necessity to support what's vital.

2. Be a proactive self-starter whenever possible rather than depend on others for support.

3. Some maintainers and communities turn out to have an un{cool,professional} culture of hostility, uncooperativeness, or unhelpfulness. Don't waste time with that.