You're absolutely right. And to clarify, my article is not in any way meant to claim that the way that the RubyGems maintainers are acting is justified. Instead

You're absolutely right. And to clarify, my article is not in any way meant to claim that the way that the RubyGems maintainers are acting is justified. Instead, I'm just trying to make the point that their experience with end users is not exactly full of ponies and rainbows, and if you act like a jerk to a maintainer, you should not expect civility in response. Users of RubyGems who proactively act rudely to the maintainers in the expectation that they will be treated rudely are only making things worse. I think in the very worst case, that the idea that RubyGems is under some sort of tyrannical rule would seem less incredulous if contributors and users would at least try being civil first. Those that don't are simply poking at a sore wound.