I don't know what you mean that I want to be thought of as special, I'm in IT, not software development, and I don't contribute to code so these "special" people wouldn't include me.

Edit: Also, most paid products do the same thing so you should be paid for those as well. You get function from FOSS software and thus it is a used product. If it isn't functioning you swap to a better one, maybe a paid one, or circumvent the functionality. The thing is with FOSS the feedback is part can be code suggestions. I personally don't do it as all the FOSS software I use I tend to be happy enough with it. However, if something is truly that mission critical for you to use the software, you can contribute. I have friends who have done so. Also just about every software I use takes feedback and suggestions. What makes FOSS special is the ability to contribute when the suggestions you want to see are not the priority. I have had an MS Teams bug I've been dealing with for several users for going on a year now and MS has told me to kick rocks, I don't have much more to do from there. For FOSS, I could try to directly implement the solution, or fork the project to meet my needs. There are dozens of projects that have come into existence because of this principle and it is one of the core parts of FOSS software. I wasn't being smug, I was being very genuine in that you are a user benefiting from the software. Obviously, if someone wants their FOSS software as widely adopted as possible they will cater to their users. Many FOSS products don't operate on that principle though, particularly smaller ones that are for needs the developer had and everything else is secondary. In those cases, often someone else will come along and fork it and create their own version. It's one of the benefits of FOSS. Again, the reason I said you were a user is because if you were a tester the primary reason you would be testing is for payment or compensation. If the primary goal is to utilize the function of what it gives you even if it has problems or UI/UX issues you are a user. If you want to be a tester, I have seen some FOSS products search for them in the past so you likely could try to make a buck in your free time for them.

That would mean the vast majority of software can always be considered in testing. I report bugs for games I play, heck many sub-communities function around them. I report bugs for the professional software I use, and even for Windows, my OS, and Android, things I had to pay for. So all software is just tested and never used under that definition.