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I disagree. Open source shouldn’t be limited to those with thick skin willing to take heaps of abuse. This is a big culture problem driving a ton of good peopl

by MBCook 3y ago

I disagree. Open source shouldn’t be limited to those with thick skin willing to take heaps of abuse. This is a big culture problem driving a ton of good people away to avoid annoying jerks who deserve to go.

talldayo 3y ago
If you want to coordinate a software project with multiple people, you need good people skills. Open source projects with an unstable core contributor very often fail or get forked into a clone by their community, it's just the nature of the thing. It's a "big culture problem" in the same way profit maximization is the destroyer of modern businesses. Everyone uses Open Source software; annoying teenagers, political dissidents you disagree with, state actors, and businesses that will ignore your license (cough Tesla cough). If you don't rise above it, the the world isn't going to change according to your whims.
- MBCook 3y ago
  Putting up with abuse and good people skills are orthogonal. Also I never said anything about an “unstable core contributor”. I fully disagree that nothing can be done about this. I never said people shouldn’t have to deal with disagreements or unlicensed use. Yeah that’s going to happen. All I’m saying is projects should take a much much harder line on abusive/rude treatment. The people who act that way will never change if they don’t face consequences. When project A puts up with it, they learn they can do it to B and C too. But if A and B stood up, maybe C and D wouldn’t even see it. It will never be zero. But it can be a lot less than it is now.
  - talldayo 3y ago
    Projects do take a hard line against abusive treatment - the most successful ones ignore or delete those comments altogether. This entire post is about someone reading a comment and not being willing to accept that there's nothing they can do about it besides refute them and move on.

by MBCook 3y ago

talldayo 3y ago

If you want to coordinate a software project with multiple people, you need good people skills. Open source projects with an unstable core contributor very often fail or get forked into a clone by their community, it's just the nature of the thing. It's a "big culture problem" in the same way profit maximization is the destroyer of modern businesses. Everyone uses Open Source software; annoying teenagers, political dissidents you disagree with, state actors, and businesses that will ignore your license (cough Tesla cough). If you don't rise above it, the the world isn't going to change according to your whims.

MBCook 3y ago
Putting up with abuse and good people skills are orthogonal. Also I never said anything about an “unstable core contributor”. I fully disagree that nothing can be done about this. I never said people shouldn’t have to deal with disagreements or unlicensed use. Yeah that’s going to happen. All I’m saying is projects should take a much much harder line on abusive/rude treatment. The people who act that way will never change if they don’t face consequences. When project A puts up with it, they learn they can do it to B and C too. But if A and B stood up, maybe C and D wouldn’t even see it. It will never be zero. But it can be a lot less than it is now.
- talldayo 3y ago
  Projects do take a hard line against abusive treatment - the most successful ones ignore or delete those comments altogether. This entire post is about someone reading a comment and not being willing to accept that there's nothing they can do about it besides refute them and move on.