Mentor Availability & Responsiveness

A good maintainer makes your contribution easier.

Signs of Responsive Maintainers

┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
│      MAINTAINER RESPONSIVENESS           │
├──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                          │
│  Issue Response Time      < 48 hours    │
│  PR Review Turnaround     < 1 week      │
│  Question Answers         < 24 hours    │
│  Issue Triage              < 1 week     │
│  Release Frequency         Regular      │
│                                          │
└──────────────────────────────────────────┘

Checking Availability

GitHub Metrics

Last commit date
Response time on recent issues
PR merge velocity
Issue closure rate

Community Channels

Join Discord/Slack
Ask a test question
Observe response patterns
Note timezone considerations

Red Flags

Red Flag	What It Means
No commits for 6+ months	Project is abandoned
Issues marked WONTFIX without reason	Maintainer lost interest
Comments only on old issues	Activity is sporadic
No maintainer responses	You won't get support

Time Zone Reality

Scenario: You're in India, project maintainer in California

Good: Maintainer responds within 24-48 hours
Bad: Maintainer only responds during their business hours
Ugly: Maintainer is sleeping when you need help

What to Expect

Professional Projects: Response within 1-2 days
Community Projects: Response within 3-5 days
Hobby Projects: Response within 1-2 weeks

If Maintainer is Unavailable

Check if there are other maintainers
Look for active contributors
Consider if project is stable enough for you
Understand you may be on your own

Responsive maintainers are rare and valuable. Prioritize them when choosing.

Evaluating Code Quality Activity Metrics