# Ep. 21 - Incorporating Community Feedback

- Show: [Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast)
- Published: 2024-05-30
- Length: 59m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-05-30-ep-21-incorporating-community-feedback
- Listen: http://opulo.io

## Summary

Steven Oz and Lucian Che Park of Opulo discuss strategies for managing community feedback in open source hardware projects, specifically focusing on the Opulo Lumen and Feeder. They emphasize the importance of creating accessible 'watering holes' like Discord and community mod pages to receive input, while maintaining strict design decisions to filter out impractical suggestions. The hosts detail how to handle 'nerd-sniped' engineering ideas by redirecting energy toward interoperable mods rather than mainline code, and stress the necessity of celebrating contributors to foster a healthy, symbiotic community.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-05-30-ep-21-incorporating-community-feedback#t=0) Introduction: Balancing Community Feedback and Project Direction
- [2:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-05-30-ep-21-incorporating-community-feedback#t=121) Creating Watering Holes: Discord, Forums, and Mod Pages
- [5:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-05-30-ep-21-incorporating-community-feedback#t=305) Community Maintenance: Handling Criticism and Toxicity
- [13:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-05-30-ep-21-incorporating-community-feedback#t=821) Filtering Feedback: Design Decisions and Contribution Guidelines
- [17:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-05-30-ep-21-incorporating-community-feedback#t=1058) Handling Technical Disagreements and Nerd-Sniping
- [30:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-05-30-ep-21-incorporating-community-feedback#t=1828) Filtering Mode: Logistics, Packaging, and Constraints
- [46:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-05-30-ep-21-incorporating-community-feedback#t=2781) Incorporating Feedback: PRs, Mods, and Mainline Integration
- [56:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-05-30-ep-21-incorporating-community-feedback#t=3397) Celebrating Contributors and Community Recognition

## Topics

- [Open-source hardware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/open-source-hardware)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Design for manufacturing & NPI](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/design-for-manufacturing)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Opulo (company)
- Lumen (product)
- Feeder (product)
- Discord (tool)
- Voron (product)
- Formlabs (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [A Happy Day For Rust](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-03-15-a-happy-day-for-rust) (Oxide and Friends)
- [Don't Turn It On, Don't Take It Apart](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-05-13-dont-turn-it-on-dont-take-it-apart) (The Amp Hour)
- [194: Something For Something](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-04-06-194-something-for-something) (Embedded.fm)
- [470: Upping the Chaos Level](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-02-09-470-upping-the-chaos-level) (Embedded.fm)
- [#440.1 - An Interview with the core KiCad development team](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-04-29-440-1-an-interview-with-the-core-kicad-development-team) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

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