To make it as simple as you suggest, there should be a code repository and nothing more. I don't think that's the case in the majority of open source projects or even what Clojure desires.
That being said, if you're not contributing back to a project (in any sensible way, not just code) maybe you should tone down your demands. I completely sympathise with author but things are a bit more complex in reality. Ignoring the benefits of these interactions/contributions is not fair to the rest of the community that is contributing. Maybe the author does that feel that's currently enough? I can totally relate.