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A few too many principles mixing the BDFL & their project, I think. It's ok for a BDFL to share the things they care for, but I would prefer a harder framework

A few too many principles mixing the BDFL & their project, I think. It's ok for a BDFL to share the things they care for, but I would prefer a harder framework for predicting BDFL behavior. My short go-to-example is https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/five-core-principles-of-singapores-foreign-policy https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/five-core-principles-... . If one imagines a world where each principle is invalidated from last to first, one can have a rough idea on how the actions the country will take. My long go-to-example is https://sqlite.org/codeofethics.html https://sqlite.org/codeofethics.html. A list of rules that they place upon themselves and not on others.

moomin 2y ago
The SQLite example gives you a pretty good idea of how the maintainers wish to be perceived, but I think it’s fairly obvious to most people that those that loudly proclaim their adherence to the first ten rules exhibit a WIDE variety of behaviour in practice.
- chambers 2y ago
  I didn't see self-marketing in their words. Rather, I read a promise: > The founder of SQLite and all current developers have pledged to follow the spirit of The Rule to the best of their ability. They view The Rule as their promise to all SQLite users of how the developers are expected to behave. This is a one-way promise, or covenant. In other words, the developers are saying: "We will treat you this way regardless of how you treat us." So far as I've seen, SQLite's developers have lived up to their words. They practice what they preach, while most other software communities do not. Rather, most of the popular ones align with your insinuation: pseudo-religious values and holier-than-thou attitudes cloaking misbehavior. On a side note, this topic inspired me to buy a copy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Saint_Benedict https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Saint_Benedict, the original source of SQLite's ethic.
- samatman 2y ago
  Is this intended as an accusation that the SQLite contributors don't live up to their own code of conduct? It could easily be read that way. If so, do you have any evidence to back up the accusation of hypocrisy? If not, and you're referring to some amorphous group of other people, why are you doing so in the context of SQLite's code of conduct? It would be pretty weird if I started talking about how various people who have nothing to do with the Rust project are violating Rust's CoC, right?

moomin 2y ago

The SQLite example gives you a pretty good idea of how the maintainers wish to be perceived, but I think it’s fairly obvious to most people that those that loudly proclaim their adherence to the first ten rules exhibit a WIDE variety of behaviour in practice.

chambers 2y ago
I didn't see self-marketing in their words. Rather, I read a promise: > The founder of SQLite and all current developers have pledged to follow the spirit of The Rule to the best of their ability. They view The Rule as their promise to all SQLite users of how the developers are expected to behave. This is a one-way promise, or covenant. In other words, the developers are saying: "We will treat you this way regardless of how you treat us." So far as I've seen, SQLite's developers have lived up to their words. They practice what they preach, while most other software communities do not. Rather, most of the popular ones align with your insinuation: pseudo-religious values and holier-than-thou attitudes cloaking misbehavior. On a side note, this topic inspired me to buy a copy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Saint_Benedict https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Saint_Benedict, the original source of SQLite's ethic.
samatman 2y ago
Is this intended as an accusation that the SQLite contributors don't live up to their own code of conduct? It could easily be read that way. If so, do you have any evidence to back up the accusation of hypocrisy? If not, and you're referring to some amorphous group of other people, why are you doing so in the context of SQLite's code of conduct? It would be pretty weird if I started talking about how various people who have nothing to do with the Rust project are violating Rust's CoC, right?