Thread by @PyImageSearch

Incoming rant:
Today I answered 163 blog post comments and 283 emails on computer vision and deep learning. All for free. It took me 10 hours. I love helping and teaching others. If I didn’t, I would do it. But there exists a small minority of readers that hurt me/drain me.

They take advantage of free help — and what’s worse, I don’t think they are aware of the behavior. They make assumptions of your time, that if they email you, they are automatically *owed* or *deserve* a response, just by virtue of sending you a message.

Others will email in 15+ times in a single month and expect a response each time. Others write essays of emails, taking advantage of your time and not being respectful. Others don’t want to actually *learn*, they just want “done for them” code for their project or report.

Today really hurt. One reader told me (whom I helped before) that they would never support PyImageSearch because why should they? I publish free content every week and there are 300+ free tutorials already. Why support a “free” resource, especially if I provide free help?

Support comes in more than finances and buying books/courses. Support comes by spreading the word. Support comes by being respectful of another human being, their time, and their mental capacity. If something is free, you support it, even in non-financial ways.

On the other hand, support DOES NOT come from (1) pirating books/courses, (2) on top of that asking the authors for free help on what it covers, and then (3) getting mad/cursing the author out if the request is refused (actually happened today).

The internet is a wonderful place for education but it will only remain wonderful if those who choose not to (financially) support a free resource “leave some for who comes next”. Just because it’s free doesn’t mean it’s to be taken advantage of. Leave some for the next person.

I’m clearly having a rough day today and am in a mood. Send help and funny GIFs.
/end rant