The developer of the MT32-Pi MIDI synth emulator of the classic Roland MT-32 has called it quits due to an alleged sustained campaign of abuse and vitriol from members of a certain retro-computing online forum, as well as having their designs taken and sold without permission on various online marketplaces.
dwhinham has said “it’s unlikely that there will be any further releases of mt32-pi”
“I have endured a sustained campaign of abuse from members of the … forum, been labelled a “clout-chaser”, had threats sent to my personal email address, code been used in other projects without proper accreditation, my 3D print designs stolen and sold by faceless eBay/Etsy sellers, personal attacks made towards me when people don’t get their feature request… the list goes on and on.
There is only so much I can take.
My mental health has been in decline as a direct result of this behavior; the joy of working on this project has pretty much gone. There is nothing to be gained from putting time and hard work into it any more. There is no gratitude, no encouragement – just entitled behavior and grift.
To those who supported this project in the past, especially whilst I was a struggling student who needed all the uplift I could get, thank you sincerely.”
I admit to having had no personal involvement in the project, certainly nothing to do with the forum which I won’t even name (but let’s just say it takes its name from creatures described as “slug-like but vaguely humanoid”) but this is yet another example of genuine people being hounded by the sizeable minority.
Many of these creators are hobbyists, or certainly doing this unpaid and voluntarily to feed their, and others, passion for particular projects. They have lives, families, jobs, and responsibilities. For generally faceless trolls to come along and (at best) whine when feature X or bug fix Y isn’t done in a timely manner — or at all — is pathetic.
The personal attacks could well be criminal.
The low-lifes making these complaints and threats clearly have a “me first” mentality, and lack even the basic skills to contribute or create their own projects. If they had the ability, surely they’d help rather than hinder?
Having access to these projects is not a right. It’s a privilege. Sadly, trolls — or detestable slugs — seem happiest when they’re tearing everything down.
As for the thieves — sadly these are on the increase as well. It’s all too easy to take someone’s designs and post them as if they were your own, on often faceless online marketplaces, for profit.
Thankfully, there are many great communities, but it surely has to make creators and developers think more carefully about what they release and how much of their personal story they share.
