You definitely need to adopt a reasonably thick skin when contributing. I've had many patches flat out ignored (literally no response at all from the mailing list despite other discussions going on around it), I've had patches interpreted as a kind of subversive / ideological attack on the project (usually it's a feature or issue that was discussed before and you're unknowingly picking at an old sore) and rejected.
What amazes me most though is that while I've had plenty of positive comments from other users of the projects I've contributed, not once have I ever had a project maintainer say "Thank you". I can understand this from some perspectives (they created the whole project and gave it to you, and now they have to do more work to accept your patch for something they probably don't need themselves - so saying thank you in return for one tiny patch seems very asymmetrical). Nonetheless, it surprises me that simple words of encouragement are often so lacking from the open source movement. At a human level it feels very strange to spend hours working on something for free, to give it as a gesture of good will to a community of people you thought were your friends and get a response somewhere between neutral and hostile.
Nonetheless, the rewarding feeling from patches I've had accepted has outweighed all negatives, so I can highly recommending just putting on your thick skin and going out there and trying.
What amazes me most though is that while I've had plenty of positive comments from other users of the projects I've contributed, not once have I ever had a project maintainer say "Thank you". I can understand this from some perspectives (they created the whole project and gave it to you, and now they have to do more work to accept your patch for something they probably don't need themselves - so saying thank you in return for one tiny patch seems very asymmetrical). Nonetheless, it surprises me that simple words of encouragement are often so lacking from the open source movement. At a human level it feels very strange to spend hours working on something for free, to give it as a gesture of good will to a community of people you thought were your friends and get a response somewhere between neutral and hostile.
Nonetheless, the rewarding feeling from patches I've had accepted has outweighed all negatives, so I can highly recommending just putting on your thick skin and going out there and trying.