I really couldn't care less. I'm writing software for my own use. I use it all the time. It allows me to do things like write entire apps in minutes.
The reason that I "put it out there," is that it forces me to cross my t's, and dot my i's. If I am publishing a supported package, then I do a seriously good job on things like documentation and testing. When all my dependencies are top-shelf, there's a damn good chance the aggregate is also gonna be good.
But I'm actually fairly happy that no one uses it. I'm no longer looking for work, so its value as portfolio material is reduced.
And I already know that it's good. I don't need anyone else to act as a judge. There's stuff I can do better (My stuff has a noticeable improvement, over time), but it's a recipe for misery, expecting fair judgment from other techs. They'll do things like smear your work, because you don't use their favorite buzzword du jour.
The proof is in the using. I eat my own dog food, and often expose issues in my own work. If others use my stuff, I appreciate bug reports, and also use things like the questions they ask to refine my supporting docs.
I don't think the sarcasm is warranted. It has been established that by putting your own work on the Internet, you are opening yourself up to be scrutinised by potential employers, therefore it is essential to present yourself in the best light possible.
Good technical writing structure, alongside grammar and spelling is also is a hallmark of professionalism, a good skill to hone for career progression.
That's exactly how I treat publishing my own OSS now (probably on a smaller scale though).
I had started by hoping (almost assuming) people would be amazed at how useful my library was. But mostly they didn't notice it, or (and this was harder to accept): didn't even recognize or understand the issues it was addressing in the first place.
5 years later, the issues are generally much better understood in android world, but still. I know some teams are using it, but it's probably not that many.
So publishing it has just become a hobby, it's something I can be proud of, it works nicely, I often use it (or the knowledge gained while writing it) to speed up whatever I'm doing and make my life easier. I also publish articles about said issues, and they seem to be helpful to the people that read them, and I enjoy explaining things I understand.
I'm not on the engineering manager track, and I hope to be programming until I retire, so I'll probably just keep supporting it.
If I had any advice for the OP I'd say set your expectations at: personal pride in doing a good job
(I'm definitely not the best person to dispense any kind of marketing advice anyway)
Most of my repos are in the various orgs that
I manage.
Back when StackOverflow still had stories, I linked to them all (I have over 40, spread around a bit). I’m no longer interested in finding work, so writing up a “story” page is not a priority for me. I’ll get around to it, sooner or later. The GH profile markdown has links to most of the stuff out there, but not all directly.
Here’s a couple more links for you, but they are not all of them:
I have dozens of repos, and very few stars.
I really couldn't care less. I'm writing software for my own use. I use it all the time. It allows me to do things like write entire apps in minutes.
The reason that I "put it out there," is that it forces me to cross my t's, and dot my i's. If I am publishing a supported package, then I do a seriously good job on things like documentation and testing. When all my dependencies are top-shelf, there's a damn good chance the aggregate is also gonna be good.
But I'm actually fairly happy that no one uses it. I'm no longer looking for work, so its value as portfolio material is reduced.
And I already know that it's good. I don't need anyone else to act as a judge. There's stuff I can do better (My stuff has a noticeable improvement, over time), but it's a recipe for misery, expecting fair judgment from other techs. They'll do things like smear your work, because you don't use their favorite buzzword du jour.
The proof is in the using. I eat my own dog food, and often expose issues in my own work. If others use my stuff, I appreciate bug reports, and also use things like the questions they ask to refine my supporting docs.
Good luck!