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I'm probably alone in this opinion but I think the OSS community should be patient and supportive of the organization that has supported our OSS projects all al
by EvanPlaice 11y ago
I'm probably alone in this opinion but I think the OSS community should be patient and supportive of the organization that has supported our OSS projects all along.
From an outsider perspective, it looks like they're preoccupied with putting out fires.
The flat organizational structure, absent strong leadership, has allowed some bad actors to manipulate there way into positions of power/influence within the organization. The CEO and driving force of the organization from its outset has been ejected after making the mistake of fraternizing with his employees. The new CEO lacks the leadership and strong personality required to take up the reigns with the current structure. A culture that was established to be inclusive is being leveraged by a malicious outspoken minority to achieve the opposite; which is causing a lot of backlash internally and externally. The public perception of the company is in free fall. Most, if not all of these issues present a legal and/or financial threat to the future of the company.
In short, GitHub's open and informal culture has become a liability.
It takes an established record of misbehavior to legally justify firing bad employees. Especially, those who will use their 'protected' status and public support to attack GitHub after being fired. I'd be willing to bet that their lack of organizational structure has left them without justification/protection and they're scrambling to make up for it.
To protect their investment, the wise thing to do would be to build some management hierarchy; which they're doing by pulling in all of the leadership from remote positions. They need to shield the current CEO from any more mishaps. They'll follow by establishing a record of poor performance for the outspoken assholes. Eventually, when they've established sufficient justification they'll eject the toxic individuals from the organization.
GitHub will emerge a mature and stable but less friendly/open organization. Hopefully, this doesn't negatively impact GitHub's willingness to support OSS.
"Do they actually want all those large open source projects to leave?"
Absolutely not. To ensure GitHub has a future, they have to fix the present.
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What we may be witnessing is the hastening recovery of an organization that experienced a systematic failure.
They'll survive... Not before shedding some blood.