It's very revealing that this response is so disliked that it's going grey.
But it is the truth. Do you not like the truth?
It is not a job. Nobody asked you to do it. You do not get to be sad when nobody pats you on the head. You are owed nothing.
Thanks for the code.
Often you do get a return, just not necessarily directly monetary. Connections you make, recognition for your work, fame if it becomes really popular, or if nothing else something to have on your resume.
You might not be getting paid, but you also aren't getting nothing.
We like truth. We don't like self-righteous ingratitude.
> You are owed nothing.
You owe them exactly what is written on the license file. If you do not give them what they are owed, you do not have a right to use their software.
Even if we assume they used the most permissive license imaginable, if you used their code you are still obligated to put a copy of their name and copyright notice as well as the license conditions and warranty disclaimer somewhere in your software or product. Typically you are also prohibited from using their name in the marketing materials of your derivative work.
Your "thanks for the free code loser" attitude is why I will AGPLv3 all of my current and future projects. At least the AGPLv3 is big enough to intimidate away people who don't even read licenses.
I believe in patting on the head anyone who puts in effort to anything that I end up repeatedly using overtime. Mostly through comments of words of encouragement because I don't have the means otherwise.