It's a nice theory, but the reality is that those rules tend to get enforced differently for different people, so it fails to entirely stamp out problem behavior.
Shit runs downhill. Whomever is at the top is the DNA for how things actually work.
To me, the good news is Torvalds is taking some time to figure himself out. That is likely to make a major difference.
Few people bother to really deal with the man in the mirror in earnest.
Yea. I fail to see how something like CoC can ensure a truly harmless community, when it is the covert power (the unspoken vibes, ambiance, etc.) that ultimately dictates the level of malice in a community.
Personally I remain skeptical, because in one community I saw first-hand how the people at the top used something like CoC to justify their malicious acts, in the name of being welcoming.
It is the same old morality game that does not ensure any genuine harmony.
> Of course, but it's a start and a symbolic gesture.
In Germany, they say: "'Gut' ist das Gegenteil von 'gut gemeint'" ("'Good' is the opposite of 'well-intentioned'"; I am aware that the pun does not translate well into English).
I don't care about Torvalds's intentions one way or another, or whether or not he's had a true change of heart. I'm a social justice warrior, not a social virtue warrior, and I am not yet celebrating results that may or may not come one day. I just ask one question: When a man who symbolizes a certain behavior that has led to unjust outcomes professes he was wrong, is that something that, at this point in time, is in the service of a greater or lesser justice? As I didn't see any wink in his statement suggesting that he's doing it only because he's been made to, I think that until it is shown that this is just a PR stunt to whitewash and preserve the status quo, it is an action that serves justice even if it is only symbolic in itself.
My mom is German. I was just helping out a "fellow German" (so to speak) with a little translation.
Also, this is my original comment above, where I make it clear that I don't really care about the code of conduct per se, but I'm thrilled to see Linus deal with the man in the mirror.
Shit runs downhill. Whomever is at the top is the DNA for how things actually work.
To me, the good news is Torvalds is taking some time to figure himself out. That is likely to make a major difference.
Few people bother to really deal with the man in the mirror in earnest.