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

[William L. Thomson Jr.]

On Monday, October 3, 2016 11:49:19 AM EDT Raymond Jennings wrote:

> 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.

It was not done correctly. I was not notified of the ban, only found out when a 
post was rejected. The ban ended up being permanent not temporary per policy. 
Not to mention it takes some nerve to ban a just resigned Trustee from a 
Foundation list. That is pretty insulting. If you look at list archives. The 
list was dead before I stirred the pot, and then I get banned. Which it ended 
up mostly dying off again.

At least in my case, devrel nor comrel has ever followed their own published 
policies. I can prove that with just about every action they took, it is fact 
not opinion.

> 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).

Please stop bringing up the concept of being kicked out. That was NEVER on the 
table. At no time was I at risk of being kicked out or booted.

The most I was facing was a 15 days suspension of no commits. I felt that was 
stupid, further insult after the insults to a just resigned Trustee, so I 
retired as a developer, against the recommendation and pleas from others.

There is a big difference between someone voluntarily resigning, both as a 
Trustee and Developer. Than someone being kicked/removed from the project.

> 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.

The ban should never have been put into place. The one person who complained 
to devrel, regretted it after. Given what all devrel did, they did not want to 
see happen.

But again, you DO NOT ban a Foundation Trustee who just resigned from a 
foundation mailing list. You can go see my posts, they were not that bad. Also 
no action was taken against those harassing me. Because they were members of 
devrel....

Members of devrel provoked me, caused me to get out of line, then took action 
after.

> 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.

I objected to the 15 day ban. I gave them a choice, 15 days, or I can just 
resign. That was their choice just as much as mine. But ask yourself why the 
15 days? For 1 post? Does that really make sense?

But all that is in the past and moot. What is the end result? Java not moving 
forward on Gentoo since ~2008-2010, and not having all filings in order with 
the IRS. Those are 2 major issues.

Even if the action against me was 100% justified, which it was not. The harm 
done to Gentoo is substantially grater than any harm they were seeking to 
protect Gentoo from. Many of those involved have moved on, while Gentoo 
suffers and I remain. The logic?

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

They are the gate keepers. They do not want more, its been this way for years.

It is like going to Congress and having them pass terms and limits on 
themselves. If will never happen. Also while Council and Trustees are elected, 
Comrel/recruiting is not, and has no term limit. They can serve indefinitely, 
with little new blood, and tainting any new blood with past events.

If nothing else, its likely both comrel and recruiting should be cycled out 
every so often. To ensure a clean slate, fresh views, etc.

-- 
William L. Thomson Jr.