> argument wasn't actually about linux in 1991, since you used an example from 2014 and said that people continue to contribute, implying that you think recent

> argument wasn't actually about linux in 1991, since you used an example from 2014 and said that people continue to contribute, implying that you think recent friction is relevant, No, my argument was about the entire timeline of Linux kernel which was a continuation of gp's (xyzzy_plugh) example when he wrote: >Take a look on LKML, or Git's mailing list, or on any serious project from the last 20 years. I just picked one random example from the last 20 years that happened to be from 2014. It could have been any of the hundreds of harsh messages in the USENET archives of 1990s of Linus and others berating people. Linus's tone was even more hostile before 2014. > what you're suggesting, which seems to be that "friction causes no harm". I'm not suggesting that at all. Instead, I'm pointing out that the gp's mental model of new & incompetent programmers not "attempting to contribute" because of an unwelcoming atmosphere is not correct. The Linux kernel has always had newbies attempt to contribute bad code even when it was a "toy project" compared to Alacritty. To put it another way using a reverse perspective from gp (klelatti): A project that publicly advertises its dismissive attitude towards incompetent programmers also _attracts_ a certain subset of programmers who think they can meet the high bar to contribute. This counterintuitive reverse psychology does not seem to be included in his mental model.