6 ms·

Because I'm unfamiliar with the project, can someone provide some context as to what happened ?

SXX 10y ago
Some links: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12512190 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12512190 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13329287 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13329287
gingerbread-man 10y ago
The full archive of Libreboot blog posts can be found via https://web.archive.org/web/*/libreboot.org https://web.archive.org/web/*/libreboot.org
pluma 10y ago
It's pretty much there in the letter. Leah had exclusive control of libreboot. Leah is transgender. The FSF fired someone who happened to be transgender. Leah accused the FSF of doing it because they were transgender. Leah pulled libreboot out of the FSF, burned various bridges by calling people names and retained exclusive control of libreboot, making statements in the project's name. Apparently she changed her mind and libreboot has transitioned into a more democratic project and she's sorry for what she did and cites personal issues which the letter spells out as gender dysphoria and substance abuse. A quick googling shows that both the FSF and Leah have mostly refrained from naming names when talking about who got fired but Leah explicitly called out individual members of the FSF (which she apologises for in the letter, indicating she no longer thinks her accusations hold any water). There are also various posts from libreboot contributors complaining about Leah having effectively locked them out of the project and apparently the entire ordeal didn't exactly result in quality software releases (which is to be expected). tl;dr: maintainer with exclusive access has personal problems, lashes out against FSF, takes project hostage, works personal problems out over the next six months, hands control over project to the other contributors and repents.
- fiatjaf 10y ago
  Everybody has personal problems.
  - Karawebnetwork 10y ago
    To put her issues in perspective, suicide rates for transgender individuals are around 45%. It doesn't excuse her childish actions but it helps understand the burden and stress transgender individuals are constantly under.
    - nyolfen 10y ago
      *suicide _attempt_ rates
      - empthought 10y ago
        That's also self-reporting to the single question "have you ever attempted suicide?" without probing for an actual intent to die. In other surveys this has found to be about double the rate compared to when something would qualify as a suicide attempt to a mental health professional.
        DanBC 10y ago
        Do you have any sources?
        empthought 10y ago
        This is the actual study that found the stat: https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/AFSP-Williams-Suicide-Report-Final.pdf https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/AF... This and other limitations are located in the aptly named "Methods and Limitations" section.
        DanBC 10y ago

SXX 10y ago

Some links: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12512190 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12512190 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13329287 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13329287

gingerbread-man 10y ago

The full archive of Libreboot blog posts can be found via https://web.archive.org/web/*/libreboot.org https://web.archive.org/web/*/libreboot.org

pluma 10y ago

It's pretty much there in the letter. Leah had exclusive control of libreboot. Leah is transgender. The FSF fired someone who happened to be transgender. Leah accused the FSF of doing it because they were transgender. Leah pulled libreboot out of the FSF, burned various bridges by calling people names and retained exclusive control of libreboot, making statements in the project's name. Apparently she changed her mind and libreboot has transitioned into a more democratic project and she's sorry for what she did and cites personal issues which the letter spells out as gender dysphoria and substance abuse. A quick googling shows that both the FSF and Leah have mostly refrained from naming names when talking about who got fired but Leah explicitly called out individual members of the FSF (which she apologises for in the letter, indicating she no longer thinks her accusations hold any water). There are also various posts from libreboot contributors complaining about Leah having effectively locked them out of the project and apparently the entire ordeal didn't exactly result in quality software releases (which is to be expected). tl;dr: maintainer with exclusive access has personal problems, lashes out against FSF, takes project hostage, works personal problems out over the next six months, hands control over project to the other contributors and repents.

fiatjaf 10y ago
Everybody has personal problems.
- Karawebnetwork 10y ago
  To put her issues in perspective, suicide rates for transgender individuals are around 45%. It doesn't excuse her childish actions but it helps understand the burden and stress transgender individuals are constantly under.
  - nyolfen 10y ago
    *suicide _attempt_ rates
    - empthought 10y ago
      That's also self-reporting to the single question "have you ever attempted suicide?" without probing for an actual intent to die. In other surveys this has found to be about double the rate compared to when something would qualify as a suicide attempt to a mental health professional.
      - DanBC 10y ago
        Do you have any sources?
        empthought 10y ago
        This is the actual study that found the stat: https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/AFSP-Williams-Suicide-Report-Final.pdf https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/AF... This and other limitations are located in the aptly named "Methods and Limitations" section.
        DanBC 10y ago