Re: [gentoo-project] Comrel Improvements: Expectations of Privacy

[Raymond Jennings]

On Mon, Oct 3, 2016 at 11:16 AM, William L. Thomson Jr. 
<wlt-ml@××××××.com> wrote:
> I was banned from posting to -nfp. I made 1 post after that ban. I
> could have
> posted much more. I stopped, the problem ended. Days later devrel
> decided I
> needed to be suspended for 15 days for the 1 post. Despite nothing
> after that
> post and the matter having ended. They got involved when they needed
> not, took
> action beyond what they needed to resolve the issue, and the result
> has
> created a problem spanning ~8 years.

In my personal opinion, you should have appealed your -nfp ban through 
proper channels.  Evading a posting ban of any sort is a serious 
offense.  I've learned the hard way elsewhere that whether you are 
banned fairly or not, defying the ban is an automatic wrong.

Its like getting kicked out of a sports bar for a totally bullshit 
reason, like being a fan of the wrong sports team or whatever.  But no 
matter how mean or wrong the bouncer was, its still his bar, and if you 
go back after you've been kicked out, the cops will, rightly, slap 
handcuffs on you and drag you to jail for trespassing.  The proper 
response is to contact the liquor board or the bar's owner and have the 
errant bouncer dealt with (appeal).

That said, maybe comrel was a bit too heavy handed?  I don't know.  But 
if I were a comrel member myself, your post would have at a minimum 
earned you a formal reprimand for breaching a posting ban.

A 15 day ban is a finite period of time, and also far shorter than 8 
years, so unless you're speaking of something beyond your 15 day ban 
(and you probably are), the math here isn't adding up.

> Same in 2015. I was proceeding with jlec, till others decided they
> need to
> participate and cause problems rather than be helpful.
>
>>  And by resolving I meant driving to a conclusion.  Ideally that
>>  conclusion is that people are behaving nicely.  However, a situation
>>  where somebody who does not demonstrate a change in behavior is
>>  removed is a resolution.
>
> You cannot control peoples behavior. This is a volunteer project. The
> main
> goal is to continue to attract volunteers and keep the project moving
> forward
> technically.
>
> If you seek harmony in this process. You are seeking something that
> will never
> be obtained, and the process of achieving such harmony will have its
> own
> consequences. Which could potentially effect things as a whole much
> worse than
> the original problem.
>
> That has been the case with me. The problem created by devrel/comrel
> has set
> back Gentoo Java over 8 years, and also hurt the foundation regarding
> its IRS
> status. Neither is good for Gentoo. For any harm I may have brought
> to Gentoo
> since 2008. What if I brought more good than bad?
>
> None the less, bad will always be there, Gentoo needs all the good,
> developers, manpower, and contributions it can get.

And this is why I'm personally advocating for more recruiters.