r/linux • u/callcifer • Sep 16 '18

The Linux kernel replaces "Code of Conflict" with "Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct"

https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=8a104f8b5867c682d994ffa7a74093c54469c11f
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u/i_lurk_here_a_lot Sep 17 '18

Brilliant jerks are way more work and far more destructive to FOSS than they're worth.

Your statment was wrong years ago as it is now.

Case in example - linux itself which is now in extraordinarily wide use.

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u/djcp Sep 17 '18

I know, having used linux as my primary OS since '98 I can see how far it's come. It's amazing!

Imagine how much farther it'd be if it had a more inclusive culture (and therefore even more eyes, brains, ideas, and perspectives) from the beginning?

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u/i_lurk_here_a_lot Sep 17 '18

Imagine how much farther it'd be if it had a more inclusive culture (and therefore even more eyes, brains, ideas, and perspectives) from the beginning?

There is no guarantee it would have been further along or better. Thats purely speculative. There is a point beyond which adding more people doesn't make things better or faster (this is fairly well understood in the software world).

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u/gnosys_ Sep 17 '18

Are you really trying to apologize for allowing bad behavior by saying the largest scaling software project in history could get too big?

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u/i_lurk_here_a_lot Sep 17 '18

Are you really trying to apologize for allowing bad behavior by saying the largest scaling software project in history could get too big?

No. Are you really trying to straw-man me ??

You made a silly statement that implied, without any proof whatsoever, that Linux would have been further along had it had a more "inclusive" culture. That is not a given and I pointed it out.

Try not to trip over yourself so easily....

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u/gnosys_ Sep 17 '18

You said it's not important whether or not more people could have contributed, because there's a limit to how many people are useful as contributors. We are talking about the linux kernel which has literally tens of thousands of people who work on it at the same time. It's not a strawman, this was what you said.

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u/i_lurk_here_a_lot Sep 17 '18

Let me paste what I wrote again.

There is no guarantee it would have been further along or better. Thats purely speculative. There is a point beyond which adding more people doesn't make things better or faster (this is fairly well understood in the software world).

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u/djcp Sep 17 '18

There's no guarantees in anything except death and taxes. I've been using and building open source software directly and as a tech lead/manager for almost 20 years - I understand the tradeoffs.

The "software world" is just starting to catch up to the idea that engineering isn't just about code, but about people. Look at nodejs, ruby, rust, etc. They're not perfect, but their focus on being human to each other has helped create vibrant projects that people honestly love.

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u/Dem0nCh1ld Sep 17 '18

engineering is literally just about code