And if this happens to very public, valued contributors to a project, we can only imagine the chilling effect on many on the fringes of the community who MIGHT have made substantial contributions. 9/n

How much have we lost? The world will never know. But here's a small data point which shows what can happen if marginalized groups in FOSS are mentored the right way. 01.org/blogs/2013/open-sourc… 10/n

When projects fail do some of them fail due to lack of diversity of thought on the development team? Would teams work better with greater diversity? The literature suggests this is so. 11/n

Every time we excuse bad behavior because of an individual's contributions to a project, we discourage many others who might have made even greater contributions. 12/n

Every time we excuse bad behavior, we signal to others that such behavior is acceptable and make our culture even more toxic. Every time we excuse bad behavior, we become part of the problem. 13/n

I love Linux, FOSS, and information security. I do not love the cults of personality in our industry and the rampant abuse an harrassment that seems to have become the norm. 14/n

Do better, my friends. Be better. /fin

So here's something I don't get... What's so special about this dude? I've seen him talk. A few times. And I felt very underwhelmed. There seems to be a sharp divide in the room "OMG!" and "huh, I don't get it". What is the pull this cat has?

Are you asking about RMS or Sage Sharp?

RMS! Sage I've never met, but did hear great things on multiple fronts. Specifically RMS just seems... strange? Like what does he bring to the table that make him worth this controversy? Even if he were like some great ninja IDK if he'd be worth it... but here? I am confused.