5 ms·

I don't know anything about it, but this starts to look a bit like public lynching.

ezluckyfree 6y ago
no, a lynching is a murder by a racist mob this is a community realizing that John Pretty is a predator and deciding that they don't want a predator in a position of power frankly, it's weird as hell for you to be confusing those two things
- mirekrusin 6y ago
  not me or you are to judge this, we don't know the details, it may as well be that he is completely shit partner and not much more than that, which is not unlawful. do you think after those posts his scala/programming/whatever he's doing career won't suffer? he's dead in many professional circles regardless if he's jail material or not.
  - klyrs 6y ago
    He wasn't her "partner", he was her mentor; he abused his position, tricked her into staying in an apartment alone with him, got her drunk and forced himself on her against her wishes.
- kingsuper20 6y ago
  >no, a lynching is a murder by a racist mob no, a lynching is an extra-legal murder by a mob.
  - _qwfv 6y ago
    In the US, lynching has extremely strong implications of racist violence. It's not strictly the definition of the word, but most folks in the states will understand a lynching to imply race related murders.
    - cbmuser 6y ago
      > In the US, lynching has extremely strong implications of racist violence. Please don’t assume everyone is a US citizen.
      - Pfhreak 6y ago
        I'm not. In fact, I'm the opposite. That's literally why I wrote that comment. It was for the benefit of people who were not US citizens who may not understand that a US reader will likely interpret the phrase that way.
- throwawayfrauds 6y ago
  That’s not what lynching is. Lynching is mob justice without a trial. The name came from Charles Lynch, who punished Loyalists during the American Revolution.
- kbelder 6y ago
  The similarity is that both are mob actions, done without legal charges or rules of evidence. I'm not defending the guy specifically; I have no idea whether he's a guilty scumbag or a persecuted innocent. But even jerks deserve a certain amount of due process before punishment. Maybe she's the scumbag? I don't know, and neither do you.
  - TheCoelacanth 6y ago
    A lynching is done by a literal mob. This is being done by a metaphorical mob.
- huachimingo 6y ago
  Not necessarily by a racist mob, just an angry mob[1]. [1]https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lynch#English https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lynch#English
- tester756 6y ago
  >this is a community realizing that John Pretty is a predator and deciding that they don't want a predator in a position of power Not really, it seems like cancel culture, did you even read this letter?
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
jjeaff 6y ago
No, I don't think open letters are anything like public lynching.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
Pfhreak 6y ago
Which part? The part where people are saying they've become aware of several independent, substantiated accusations against Pretty? The part where they state that sexual assault is unacceptable? The part where they demand that Pretty stop this behavior, and that communities put stronger code of conducts in place to specifically call out preying on/sexually assaulting members of that community as unacceptable? Refusing to associate with Pretty, who they believe is an sexual abuser? Which part of that is 'a bit like a public lynching'? I want you to be specific, because waving your hand loosely at a document and being like, "Well I dunno, but this seems like an execution designed to drive fear into a community" is not only wildly inappropriate but also rhetorically hollow.
- ipaddr 6y ago
  "We will not use or promote any software artifacts that are maintained by Mr. Pretty" This part seems over the top. You go down this road and you end up in some foss hell. Later you find out someone who abused someone checked in code in linux. You can't use windows or a mac because of jobs and gates and you are back on a c64 until you realize what a bad person Jack was and you end up on OS/2. I guess those who signed want to use an unmaintained version? I get that people want to do something. Maybe conferences are not the best avenue for the community to meet safely. Providing gender safe housing would go a long way to having a more successful conference if successful means less rapes.
  - Pfhreak 6y ago
    Edit: Would you characterize that part as "a bit like a public lynching"? Because I definitely wouldn't, even if I disagreed with it or felt it was too much. --- I think you are very uncharitably reading that comment. There's a difference between, "This person checked some code into a repo" and "this person is the maintainer of a project". And I think that it's reasonable for people to hold the stance of, "I don't want to run this person's code because I believe they are a serial abuser" and to clearly state why. If other repos see that, maybe they decide to take on that stance, maybe they don't. They encourage others to consider doing the same, but the don't demand them.
melenaboija 6y ago
It starts looking to me like a bit of explaining what happened repeatedly
trynton 6y ago
@mirekrusin: "I don't know anything about it, but this starts to look a bit like public lynching." Trial by Internet.
dimgl 6y ago
Make no mistake. This is a public lynching.

no, a lynching is a murder by a racist mob this is a community realizing that John Pretty is a predator and deciding that they don't want a predator in a position of power frankly, it's weird as hell for you to be confusing those two things

mirekrusin 6y ago
not me or you are to judge this, we don't know the details, it may as well be that he is completely shit partner and not much more than that, which is not unlawful. do you think after those posts his scala/programming/whatever he's doing career won't suffer? he's dead in many professional circles regardless if he's jail material or not.
- klyrs 6y ago
  He wasn't her "partner", he was her mentor; he abused his position, tricked her into staying in an apartment alone with him, got her drunk and forced himself on her against her wishes.
kingsuper20 6y ago
>no, a lynching is a murder by a racist mob no, a lynching is an extra-legal murder by a mob.
- _qwfv 6y ago
  In the US, lynching has extremely strong implications of racist violence. It's not strictly the definition of the word, but most folks in the states will understand a lynching to imply race related murders.
  - cbmuser 6y ago
    > In the US, lynching has extremely strong implications of racist violence. Please don’t assume everyone is a US citizen.
    - Pfhreak 6y ago
      I'm not. In fact, I'm the opposite. That's literally why I wrote that comment. It was for the benefit of people who were not US citizens who may not understand that a US reader will likely interpret the phrase that way.
throwawayfrauds 6y ago
That’s not what lynching is. Lynching is mob justice without a trial. The name came from Charles Lynch, who punished Loyalists during the American Revolution.
kbelder 6y ago
The similarity is that both are mob actions, done without legal charges or rules of evidence. I'm not defending the guy specifically; I have no idea whether he's a guilty scumbag or a persecuted innocent. But even jerks deserve a certain amount of due process before punishment. Maybe she's the scumbag? I don't know, and neither do you.
- TheCoelacanth 6y ago
  A lynching is done by a literal mob. This is being done by a metaphorical mob.
huachimingo 6y ago
Not necessarily by a racist mob, just an angry mob[1]. [1]https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lynch#English https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lynch#English
tester756 6y ago
>this is a community realizing that John Pretty is a predator and deciding that they don't want a predator in a position of power Not really, it seems like cancel culture, did you even read this letter?

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

jjeaff 6y ago

No, I don't think open letters are anything like public lynching.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

Pfhreak 6y ago

Which part? The part where people are saying they've become aware of several independent, substantiated accusations against Pretty? The part where they state that sexual assault is unacceptable? The part where they demand that Pretty stop this behavior, and that communities put stronger code of conducts in place to specifically call out preying on/sexually assaulting members of that community as unacceptable? Refusing to associate with Pretty, who they believe is an sexual abuser? Which part of that is 'a bit like a public lynching'? I want you to be specific, because waving your hand loosely at a document and being like, "Well I dunno, but this seems like an execution designed to drive fear into a community" is not only wildly inappropriate but also rhetorically hollow.

ipaddr 6y ago
"We will not use or promote any software artifacts that are maintained by Mr. Pretty" This part seems over the top. You go down this road and you end up in some foss hell. Later you find out someone who abused someone checked in code in linux. You can't use windows or a mac because of jobs and gates and you are back on a c64 until you realize what a bad person Jack was and you end up on OS/2. I guess those who signed want to use an unmaintained version? I get that people want to do something. Maybe conferences are not the best avenue for the community to meet safely. Providing gender safe housing would go a long way to having a more successful conference if successful means less rapes.
- Pfhreak 6y ago
  Edit: Would you characterize that part as "a bit like a public lynching"? Because I definitely wouldn't, even if I disagreed with it or felt it was too much. --- I think you are very uncharitably reading that comment. There's a difference between, "This person checked some code into a repo" and "this person is the maintainer of a project". And I think that it's reasonable for people to hold the stance of, "I don't want to run this person's code because I believe they are a serial abuser" and to clearly state why. If other repos see that, maybe they decide to take on that stance, maybe they don't. They encourage others to consider doing the same, but the don't demand them.

melenaboija 6y ago

It starts looking to me like a bit of explaining what happened repeatedly

trynton 6y ago

@mirekrusin: "I don't know anything about it, but this starts to look a bit like public lynching." Trial by Internet.

dimgl 6y ago

Make no mistake. This is a public lynching.