Behavioral standards in the free software community

Behavioral standards in the free software community

Posted Jun 8, 2006 7:03 UTC (Thu) by lysse (subscriber, #3190)
Parent article: Behavioral standards in the free software community

The XFree86 project's decision to expel Keith Packard might not have been terribly good for their continued relevance, but it could be argued that it has turned out to be the right decision for all concerned - XFree86 have been allowed to continue up their own cul-de-sac unimpeded, and Keith's work has been allowed to make uninhibited progress. Moreover, without actually knowing anything about what happened, it seems to me that the view that the XFree86 team took of Keith's actions was not a surprising one; revolutions don't tend to start from a premise of civil obedience and submission to authority.

Even if the debate is framed in terms of personal conduct ("being a jerk"), there's the example of the notoriously abrasive Theo de Raadt to consider. NetBSD has continued rather well without him - but he has also turned his efforts to a project which has achieved considerable success and earned its place in the world in its own right. Being a jerk and having a valuable contribution to make are clearly not antithetical.

So perhaps the whole idea of a "code of conduct" shouldn't be phrased in absolutist terms ("behave like this or you're BAD!"), but in terms that reflect the reality of group work - which is that if one individual's views, orientation, or personal conduct threatens the survival of the group, the best solution for all concerned is for that group and that individual to part company, without issuing judgements on either side. Of course, personal opinions will abound, but they will, of necessity, be biased; it's perhaps unfair to give them any more status or weight than "we've reached a point where there's no way we can work together any more". Let disinterested observers make up their own minds as to who was in the right, and why.

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