The Worst Part of Open Source: The Community
How often do we hear that? How often are we inundated with declarations of how absolutely amazing the "Linux Community" or the "Open Source Community" are?
Constantly.
There are entire conferences dedicated to Open Source "Communities" -- and nearly every company or foundation which is even remotely "Open Source-y" has an official "Community Manager" position. Sometimes several of them.
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Recently, I was having a discussion, via E-Mail, with the founder of a prominent Open Source project. There had been a round of mob-like attacks on some of the members of that project (because that's what happens in Open Source projects with a "Community"), and I was working on an article covering those events.
All very ordinary. That sort of thing happens weekly.
Then the founder of that project requested -- nay... pleaded -- that I hold off on publishing the article. And, if I did publish the article, to not include the founders name or indicate that we had spoken at all.
Because, and I quote, "I worry that it will make things *worse* for me."
The founder feared what the mob (aka the "Community" of the Open Source project which that person had created) would do if they found out we had simply spoken.
If you speak out against the mob (the "Community")... the mob attacks you. Everyone knows it. And everyone fears it.