Surely whether to respond is down to the individual; I don't see any need for a rule. I'm sometimes impressed with the obvious effort a responder has put in to create their response; maybe because its a topic of particular interest to them, or part of something they are already working on (or, possibly, they just want a challenge). And a response will often help those who never asked the question, as well. As mostly a lurker in these forums, I've learned a lot from responses to questions others have asked (and not just about Raspberry stuff).
For me, there's a very blurred line between "commercial" and "hobby"; the two sides feed each other. So when I ask a question, its not always apparent as to the motive (least of all to me). For example, a recent thread I started had its roots in a possible commercial application, but was primarily about learning to use the Pico and assessing its suitability for the project. It could well be that commercially the Pico proves unsuitable, but regardless of that the Pico will be used in my hobby projects once I've got to grips with it. Nevertheless, I got some very helpful responses, and was able to contribute back some recently acquired knowledge of my own. And the thread content could be of use to others in the future.
And commercially, its not always about the money. We've got a potential project using the CM5, and have yet to decide whether to make our own set of mistakes, or pay someone to "jump start" the project. If we choose the latter route, we may miss out on some knowledge that is useful later. Our volume will never justify the assistance of a manufacturer's FAE (as is the case for @MikeDB), and for the more obscure questions an FAE is not necessarily the quickest route; the wealth of experience spread across forum members here means there is a good chance someone can answer the question quickly.
Ultimately its perhaps about "payback"; all of us here use "free" software, and such users should (IMO) contribute back in some way when we can. For most this would be by helping others in areas where you have some expertise; a few donate money to projects they use, and a few even contribute to the development project. Hopefully this approach rubs off on the commercial users; however there have always been people who take everything and give back nothing.
For me, there's a very blurred line between "commercial" and "hobby"; the two sides feed each other. So when I ask a question, its not always apparent as to the motive (least of all to me). For example, a recent thread I started had its roots in a possible commercial application, but was primarily about learning to use the Pico and assessing its suitability for the project. It could well be that commercially the Pico proves unsuitable, but regardless of that the Pico will be used in my hobby projects once I've got to grips with it. Nevertheless, I got some very helpful responses, and was able to contribute back some recently acquired knowledge of my own. And the thread content could be of use to others in the future.
And commercially, its not always about the money. We've got a potential project using the CM5, and have yet to decide whether to make our own set of mistakes, or pay someone to "jump start" the project. If we choose the latter route, we may miss out on some knowledge that is useful later. Our volume will never justify the assistance of a manufacturer's FAE (as is the case for @MikeDB), and for the more obscure questions an FAE is not necessarily the quickest route; the wealth of experience spread across forum members here means there is a good chance someone can answer the question quickly.
Ultimately its perhaps about "payback"; all of us here use "free" software, and such users should (IMO) contribute back in some way when we can. For most this would be by helping others in areas where you have some expertise; a few donate money to projects they use, and a few even contribute to the development project. Hopefully this approach rubs off on the commercial users; however there have always been people who take everything and give back nothing.
Statistics: Posted by stevend — Sat Oct 11, 2025 9:35 am