— WIP Article about open source contribution and fear of rejection
* Feedback is welcome, and offcourse I used Google gemini and grammarly premium 😇

Title: Code with Conviction: From Fear to Confidence
(The Story of Two Laravel Packages)

We've all been there – you pour your heart into code, craft a solution you're proud of, then hesitate to hit submit on that pull request. Fear of rejection is a real hurdle in open source. But what if we re-framed the story? Here's how to overcome that fear and turn your "almost-contributions" into awesome packages that benefit the community, all while building your confidence as a developer.

From Fear to Self-Belief

Fear of rejection is a common foe, but it doesn't have to win. Maybe your brilliant feature seems out of place, or maybe the core team is already working on something similar. The key? Don't let fear silence your coding voice! While a pull request might be the ideal outcome, there's another path: the power of the package. By transforming your code into a reusable package, you share your work with the world, even if it doesn't land directly in the core framework.

Case Study #1: laravel-make-scope (September 2019)

Back in 2019, I had this fantastic idea for a package: laravel-make-scope. It streamlined generation of scope classes with Laravel's Artisan console. But then, I stumbled upon a pull request in the Laravel framework itself that seemed similar. This discovery triggered a wave of fear. Had someone already thought of this? Would my pull request be rejected too?

Instead of letting fear win, I decided to release laravel-make-scope as a standalone package. This nifty tool empowered developers and even got a shoutout on Laravel News. Over time, the package gained traction, attracting more than 100 stars on GitHub and a whopping 25k downloads on Packagist. This positive reception was a huge confidence booster, validating my idea and my coding abilities. Fast forward to November 2020, and guess what? The Laravel framework itself incorporated a very similar feature for generating scope classes! Talk about validation! While my package might not have directly inspired the merged PR, it did showcase the value of the idea and helped build my confidence as a developer.

Case Study # #2: laravel-needs-auto-rehash (September 2020)

This one's a bit more personal. In September 2020, I was working on a package called laravel-needs-auto-rehash. This package aimed to automatically detect and rehash outdated password hashes in Laravel applications, a crucial security feature. Fear of rejection initially held me back from submitting a pull request, but I released the package anyway. And, wouldn't you know it, the well-known security engineer, Stephen Rees-Carter (Valorin), himself, submitted a pull request to the Laravel framework in December 2023 that implemented a very similar functionality!

Here's the beauty of open source: even if your direct contribution doesn't get merged, it can spark conversation and inspire change. My package, laravel-needs-auto-rehash, might not have become the official solution, but it certainly helped raise awareness about this important security practice. While it may not have directly influenced Valorin's PR, releasing it helped me believe in my abilities and the value of my ideas.

The Takeaway? Code with Confidence!

Don't let fear of rejection hold you back! The open-source community thrives on diverse ideas and solutions. If a pull request seems daunting, consider the power of the package. By turning your code into a reusable tool, you can still empower others and contribute to the larger ecosystem. So keep coding, keep innovating, and who knows, your next project might just pave the way for the next big feature in your favorite framework! Remember, the act of creating and sharing your code is valuable, regardless of where it ends up. So go forth, code with confidence, and share your awesome code with the world!