Rust Moderation Team Resigns
I don&#x27;t believe proper free software projects require significant moderation of behavior between individuals.<p>If someone says something that rises to the level of a crime, report it to your local authorities.<p>Otherwise, if a person is generally toxic enough, they will be worked around.<p>Note that expelling a person from a project for being a jerk in one or more instances may do more harm than good. What is the value of their technical contributions? Just how much of a jerk were they?<p>Unfortunately, some snowflakes like to believe that everyone contributes equally. That is simply not the case. And, in fact, some people contribute a _negative_ amount overall. Which is to say, the project is better off without their participation.<p>Linux has changed the world -- in a very substantial way and much for the better -- even though Linus flew off the handle at people for years. That doesn&#x27;t mean he is completely beyond criticism, but it does indicate to me that we need to put a significant check in place against these &quot;feelings committees.&quot; Their sensibilities are becoming ever more delicate.<p>You can&#x27;t have a complex technical project that is successful without some minimum level of competency. For better or worse, competency often makes people a little rougher around the edges.<p>Choose your tradeoff carefully.<p>edit: Adding an addendum here because of a lot of people seem quite triggered by the use of the word toxic and frankly, I don&#x27;t have time to reply to all of you.<p>I used the word toxic in this post precisely once, to say that people who are toxic enough will be worked around.<p>Toxicity is not a yes&#x2F;no question. It&#x27;s a matter of degree and context. So is technical contribution.<p>Everyone is capable of saying things they will regret later. Some people are capable of saying things that everyone else will regret, frequently.<p>With regards to &quot;competency&quot; and &quot;rough around the edges&quot; -- note I used the phrase &quot;rough around the edges&quot; and NOT toxic. Many of you seem to be making that substitution.<p>Have the lot of you never worked with someone who knows their shit, is opinionated, and isn&#x27;t afraid to let you know it? They&#x27;re often intimidating, even if they don&#x27;t mean to be. Submitting a PR for review to them can be nervewracking even if they are entirely nice about it. Sometimes a fair critique will cut a little deeper because the code is your baby, and they didn&#x27;t sugarcoat it enough for your liking. And, once in a while, they&#x27;re willing to get in a heated debate because they feel strongly about something.<p>The very nature of being critical (which is required for quality code) is enough to provoke some unwanted emotions in other people. Even if those negative emotions aren&#x27;t intended. And sometimes, getting into a heated argument about something is justified if it saves a lot of pain later.<p>Somehow, there is a lot of triggering going on here, and not a lot of acknowledgement of nuance.