It's due to some recent and inconveniently timed personal events
rather than *anything* within Debian, but I'm going to be reducing my
involvement considerably. I'm sure people who have no insight into my
life will claim otherwise; they're full of shit, if you care. If you
don't already know my reasons for this, and you most likely don't, you
probably aren't going to.
I'm ditching the packages I don't personally use. My handful of
unfinished projects will probably remain that way. Most of the stuff
I've been hosting in ~/public_html/ directories is gone, and the rest
will probably go soon. I will not be on IRC or subscribed to most of
the lists I currently read. Don't look to me for help with random
things any more. From now on, I shall only be doing things which are
technically advantageous to me.
As a parting shot, here are some things which Debian needs more people
to understand:
Watch out for the people claiming to have some insight into my
motivations here, or saying what a great improvement this is - that
ad-hominem attitude is precisely the thing which has caused so much
trouble in Debian over the years. Most of the significant
non-technical issues that I've ever seen can be traced back to
that. Once you start focusing on the person who says something, rather
than what they're saying, technical superiority ceases to be a
result. Once you start measuring people, you find that they don't
measure up.
Also watch out for people talking about the 'intent' of others - this
is little more than thought-crime, and they have apparently become
telepathic. And the Debian version of 'terrorism' is 'anti-social' -
a crime that brooks no defence or tolerance, can be defined to
encompass anything you wish, and justifies any action in response[0].
I'm not going to bother about the people trying to sabotage Debian's
structure (mostly with 'good intentions', and you all know where that
road leads) any more - if you lot want to reign them in, and I know a
lot of you do, then you're going to have to do it on your own. It will
probably be a few years before they can significantly affect me now,
and when that happens I can always leave. All you people who aren't
Ubuntu-loving, Nazi-hating, beer-drinking members of the correct
religion and political party, you're going to have to do without my
support in future. If you want to do something about it, you're going
to have to *do* something, instead of just sitting around and
complaining.
In Debian, nobody listens to complaints from a minority - they'll make
'reasonable' arguments about prioritisation and majority rule, but
ultimately it means you're going to be ignored, whatever their
reasoning. So merely complaining is a waste of your time. Do something
about the problem instead. But before you do it - consider: what would
winning look like? Then figure out how to get there. Not how you'd
like to get there, but how you *can* get there. You'll probably have
to work around people rather than through them (you will almost always
encounter people who refuse to work *with* you, for whatever reason).
None of these things are currently at a scale where they pose an
immediate threat to Debian. All of them are growing. All of them
*will* be ultimately fatal if permitted to grow unchecked.
Keep this in mind:
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
And wonder who they're going to be coming for next time. Remember,
being unpopular is a crime. That is the law of a pure democracy[1].
That is part of why most governments are far from democratic - it's
incompatible with the justice system, for one thing. Maybe Debian
could learn a few lessons from them.
[0] Including assuming dictatorial power:
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/12/the_security_th_1.html
The definition of 'dictatorial' given here is worth noting, even
if you don't read the rest of it. quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
[1] Cory Doctorow wrote a story about this, exploring the idea of what
such a world would look like. If you haven't already read it, you
should - and then think about whether you'd like to live in that
world.
http://www.craphound.com/down/download.php
--
...now lost without the thing I held so dear,
I have become what I fear.
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