Recently I noticed Lodash& #39;s repo had 0 open issues. As an OSS maintainer I found this fascinating because Lodash is tremendously popular, and keeping issues down is notoriously difficult.
Turns out @jdalton uses closed issues as part of his workflow:

- Feature requests are closed issues with `feature` label and `votes needed` label, and a https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👍" title="Daumen hoch" aria-label="Emoji: Daumen hoch"> emoji reaction
- Bugs are open issues tagged with `bug` label
To see current feature requests, he provides a link that shows all issues labeled `feature`, sorted by descending count of https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👍" title="Daumen hoch" aria-label="Emoji: Daumen hoch">.

That& #39;s how he prioritizes new feature development, so everyone knows the "most important" thing to work on next.
I really love this system because

1. It communicates to users that at any one time, there are many features competing for dev time

2. It has a built-in mechanism for helping the maintainer determine priority (https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👍" title="Daumen hoch" aria-label="Emoji: Daumen hoch"> counts)
3. The open Issues list doesn& #39;t become a dumping ground for questions, bugs, feature requests and discussions. It stays focused on what& #39;s actively being worked on.

4. The maintainer is better able to focus their effort and keep tabs on the overall needs of their users
OSS maintainability is all about communication: telling users if their requests align with the project; if you& #39;re still actively developing; what your priorities are; and so on.

Systems that nudge maintainers to fall into successful patterns in these areas are greatly needed.
I would love to hear what systems or tools other folks have found success with in the areas of OSS communication! I& #39;d also love to know if @github is working on any features that touch this area.
You can follow @samselikoff.
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