On 01/14/2016 09:53 AM, Geoff Winkless wrote:
> On 14 January 2016 at 16:37, Joshua D. Drake <jd@commandprompt.com> wrote:
>> If someone stands up in a respectful way in a public place and argues
>> a position, they should not be demonized or punished for that.
I am not a contributor to Postgresql (tho I have contributed in
small ways to other projects) so my opinion is worth less than 2
cents but...
I strongly agree with the above.
> I completely agree with you, unfortunately there are enough people who
> are so militant about their particular beliefs that they can make life
> very difficult for both the individual and the organisation they
> represents (cf eg Brendan Eich).
>
> If you are well known (outside of the community) as representing
> postgres then I'm afraid extreme opinions will reflect on postgres,
> whether you like it or not.
That can't be helped, people being the way they are. It seems to
be a sad fact that many people are willing to use their free speech
rights to suppress the free speech rights of others. But that is
not IMO a good reason to submit to or appease them.
The Postgresql community could mitigate this somewhat by having
a CC that explicitly states that the opinions and expressions of
its "members" do not reflect those of the organization or its
other members. Disclaimers like this are common in all sorts of
organizations (eg commercial media) that present diverse points of
views. And the CC itself prohibits off topic and inflammatory
opinions within the community boundaries.
> On the flip side, I imagine that being
> that well-known brings positives (job offers, paid - or at least
> expenses-paid in nice locations - speaking engagements etc) in return.
That trade-off should be decided by the individual involved, not
by the organization.