I am relatively new to Drupal, and I am thinking of posting a feature request on Drupal.org for one of the Drupal modules that I'm using. Before I do it, I wonder if there is any convention or etiquette that I should know about.
What is the convention for asking a feature request to the module developer? Is it bad to ask for the feature if it's a small thing that I might be able to write myself after some tinkering?
If you have the ability to write the patch, even if it's not "right", it can often encourage the developer to jump in and help. If you're not as comfortable writing the patch, you can also explicitly offer to test it.
Overall, just be polite, and be prepared to be patient. We're almost all volunteers!
Number 1 is to make sure that it hasn't been asked for before. Duplicate issues are very annoying as a module maintainer.
The second thing is that you should provide as much information as possible. As to why the feature is needed and how it will benefit the module.
Also remember that just because you need it it may not be a good fit for the module, if it is something very specific for your needs the maintainer is unlikely to spend time on it.
As Tim said providing patches is very helpful. It also shows that you have put time and effort into the request.
The issue system does have categories for "feature request" and "support request".
For larger things, I would poke around and see if anyone else has made a similar request. Check the issue queue and the official group, if there is one.
For smaller things that you can take care of, I would submit a "feature request" and attach a patch.
