Switching fields

Posted Apr 2, 2024 22:06 UTC (Tue) by pebolle (guest, #35204)
In reply to: Switching fields by chris_se
Parent article: Free software's not-so-eXZellent adventure

> So anybody who ever trusted the wrong person should be seen as a pariah? And in your eyes that should last forever? I'm just speechless at this horrible view of the world you are espousing here.

My horrible view of the world is that if you screw up big time, and yes, this is screwing up big time, you take responsibility. In this case by retracting from this field.

Switching fields

Posted Apr 3, 2024 0:10 UTC (Wed) by JoeBuck (subscriber, #2330) [Link]

That's a foolish way to manage people. Someone who's been burned by such a sophisticated operation is more likely to be cautious in the future than some arrogant person who is convinced that he cannot be conned, and the project needs a capable, experienced maintainer.

But ideally he'd get help from someone who is paid by a company that depends on this library. Probably 20% time would suffice to take the load off, and the employer can vouch for the person.

Switching fields

Posted Apr 3, 2024 5:57 UTC (Wed) by ebee_matteo (subscriber, #165284) [Link]

> My horrible view of the world is that if you screw up big time, and yes, this is screwing up big time, you take responsibility. In this case by retracting from this field.

Fun fact! 80% of businesses fail within 20 years.

https://clarifycapital.com/blog/what-percentage-of-busine...

If also 80% of business owner who have "screwed up" to the point of closing down then "retracted from the field", I don't think humanity would get much done.

My point goes with the old adage: errare humanum est. Learning from one mistakes is what matters.

As a FOSS contributor and maintainer with a treatable mental illness, and having known a big amount of likewise people over the years, I take deep exception with your stance.

Maybe showing empathy and understanding that it is hard for one person to contrast state-sponsored attempts spanning years (look at SolarWinds too, Cisco WebEx, Zoom...) would mean less time spent on forums, and more time doing code reviews.

The real problem is that everybody uses FOSS software even for commercial products, but very few companies invest time to contribute back, especially when it comes to security reviews.

Therefore, I would like to applaud Collin for his courage to state his condition publicly and being so transparent about it.

If you are reading this, a big hug goes out to you! You are not alone!

Switching fields

Posted Apr 4, 2024 2:40 UTC (Thu) by draco (subscriber, #1792) [Link]

This reminds me of a story. I remember hearing it a bit differently, but the details don't matter, just the lesson of the story: https://www.discerningreaders.com/watson-sr-we-forgive-th...

Switching fields

Posted Apr 5, 2024 7:57 UTC (Fri) by LtWorf (subscriber, #124958) [Link]

I think you forgot to read the no warranty clause on every free software license.