I think running an open source project can only work for you if you have a certain level of give-an-f-ness (hail Linus). Beware, there be morons on the internet. Loads. Be very careful not to waste any emotion on them, do stuff for yourself, to make you feel good! Of course this can be charity, charity can make any non-sociopath feel good.
There is a very large, appreciative silent majority out there that love what you do and use your stuff without telling you everyday that they love you. And then there are some vocal lowlifes that feel some sort of entitlement to your time.
It's a shame opening an issue can so easily be used as a frustration outlet, yet there's no equivalent feature to show that you love a project without burdening a maintainer with an issue.
I personally enjoy being on both the sending and receiving end of message of thanks.
There is a very large, appreciative silent majority out there that love what you do and use your stuff without telling you everyday that they love you. And then there are some vocal lowlifes that feel some sort of entitlement to your time.