Hi, this is Benjamin, behind the Castopod account.
Lately, I’ve felt harassed for not fixing a bug fast enough. Seeing the same complaint posted repeatedly, across different platforms, and being told we “kept silent” when we didn’t—it hurts.
We understand that waiting for a fix is frustrating. We also use open source software; we’ve been in your shoes.
So when you spot a bug, please remember: there are real people behind this project. Try to be kind.
Please don’t misunderstand: not only do we value feedback—we need it. Open source cannot exist without a community, and that includes critical feedback.
We welcome it. But empathy matters too.
Why do we do this? Because we believe in the 4 software freedoms:
The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose.
The freedom to study and change it.
The freedom to share copies.
The freedom to share your modifications.
That’s why Castopod exists.
We don’t split features into “free” and “paid.” We don’t sell essential plugins. We don’t restrict functionality.
We want full freedom. Half freedom wouldn’t make sense to us.
Some people help us—and we’re enormously grateful. Whether it’s money, time, or talent—translations, bug reports, fixes, blog posts, or just spreading the word: thank you.
Every bit of help means a lot.
Castopod doesn’t pay our rent. We’re a small team, working on this project out of passion.
And we plan to keep going. There are many things ahead, and we’re excited to share them with you.
So please: when you interact with us, remember—behind every open source project, there are real people who care.
Go podcasting!
—Benjamin
Hang in there. And fuck ‘em!
Thank you @evoterra 🫶
@Castopod Thank you for your work! Very appreciated 
Thank you @foxmean 🫶
@Castopod Modern people want instant everything. Even if programmers need a few days to fix something - they don't care. "I want it yesterday."
I feel your pain.
Power to you and your podcasting platform.
@Castopod well said.
More users, higher expectations. The growing monetization and fast iteration of proprietary software inevitably raise user expectations.
I occasionally feel that too, and definitely can use more empathy and conversation as you articulated.
Meanwhile, it's also a sign that you are doing good and important work. Thank you for keeping it up 🙏
Thank you @neodb 🫶
@Castopod 🫶 I’m really sorry to hear you’re dealing with that. You’re doing good work, and the people who truly appreciate it far outnumber the entitled ones.
Thank you @nathan 🫶
Thank you @dave 🫶
@Castopod Don’t let them pull you down. You’re doing a great job! 🫶🏻
Thank you @thinkpadmuseum 🫶
@Castopod castopod is great. Do listen to the trolls. You're doing a great job
Thank you @inlovewithpda 🫶
I’m sure this wasn’t done to hurt us deliberately. But that’s how it felt.
If you dismiss that, if you deny how we feel, we’ll take that as a lack of empathy—and you will be blocked. Not because we reject feedback, but because we won’t accept being treated as if we’re not human.