D3rM4rkus

The abrupt response is because "when will it be released?" is a question that modders get asked all the time; as ineseri said, in this very thread, people have asked that very question. Often, there is no answer; even when a timeframe does exist, it's often not revealed to the public, because doing so commits the modder to finish it in a certain timeframe. Modding is subject to random delays. The modder can take a break to do other things he finds more important or interesting (e.g. friends, school/work, a new TV show). Even if the modder doesn't do this, there's often no good way to tell how long something will take; this is especially true for scripting, as it's almost impossible to accurately estimate the time it takes to debug code.

Now, if a modder posted a release date, people would hold them to it. If Caine said "I'll release this on April 20" and didn't, people would be mad. There's no reason why Caine *should* commit himself to a release timeframe; he isn't being paid a penny for ELS, and has no obligation to release anything.

It'd be one thing if "any idea on a release date?" meant simply "I would like a rough estimate on when you think you might release it; it's fine if this changes, but I just want a vague sense of the timeline." But that's not how it comes across in this situation. It comes across as "I don't like waiting; hurry up and finish it already!" People take a dim view to being hurried along, and don't like deadlines. There are some special cases where questions about a release date don't imply impatience. For instance, if you're working on a mod that goes along with ELS, that's a good reason to ask - if ELS will be released soon, then you might hold off on your mod until you can update for the new version, while if ELS will be a while, you might go ahead and release as-is. Likewise, especially with a new modder, you don't necessarily know what their view is on release dates. If someone posts a new WIP thread, it's reasonable to wonder if they'll be willing to share a ballpark release date. However, it's also reasonable for them to say "no".

Furthermore, people don't like being asked the same thing multiple times. If a question is asked and answered in a thread, then unless there's good reason to believe the answer has changed, asking it again is a waste of everyone's time. Doing so will make it look like you couldn't be bothered to read the thread. This can be unfair, because sometimes the info wasn't clear in the thread. People will react better if you explain why you're asking again and give some indication that you've read the thread.

Much of the time, pressing someone for a release date when it's been explained before that none will be given makes people view you as impatient and rude. Calling someone an asshole for not giving a time frame does little to change that impression. It actually makes it look like you feel *entitled* to an estimate, and that you feel more special than all those other people who didn't get an estimate.




If you don't want to read my wall of text, Neil Gaiman expressed a similar sentiment, and did it much, much better than me.