I understand this need, too. I tend to join user groups or leave thank-you notes. I'd much rather do that than feel suspicious about the program I'm using.
Indeed -- I often send a thank-you to authors of software I use, and receiving such a thank-you (or even a bug report!) is always a pleasure.
PS -- If you use Mac OS, I highly recommend LittleSnitch, which will let you know whenever a program tries to make a network connection, and let you control how that program accesses the internet.