Don’t be a Dick
As the year reaches its final conclusion I use to take a look back at the year that passed and do some naval gazing… I released this and that, I did a talk or two, etc.
But honestly… I’ve made new releases, I have a great job that allows me to work on open source software and get paid for doing my hobby. Life is good!
The world is shit though…
A Plea
I’ve spend most of my adult life developing software and giving it away for free, no strings attached. I try to be a welcoming and helpful part of the community. Lines has to be drawn though…
If you support fascism, racism, misogyny, or any of the other ugly heads that bigotry has, either openly or indirectly by voting for the likes of Trump or Johnson, I have a plea for you:
don’t use my code.
don’t open issues.
don’t ask for help.
This is not an addendum to any license I provide, nor is it in any way legally binding (I wouldn’t know how to achieve that). This is simply a plea from one person to another. You choose to support movements that runs counter to everything open source software stands for, and the least you could do is to not stand on our shoulders as you fight us.
It goes without saying that this plea can only extend to the code I create in my spare time and release as a private person.
It also goes without saying that, should this plea apply to you, you’ll probably ignore it because you have already cast aside decency. If you do ignore it just know: I actively despise you as a user…
To Everyone Else
As the world goes to shit I’d like to up my commitment to support those hurt the most by it. Do you need feedback, help, or otherwise, with anything I might be able to chip in on (mostly R and generative art), and are you a minority in any way, I invite you to reach out, and I’ll do what I can.
Merry Christmas
Addendum 16/12/19
Thankfully people have mostly reacted in positive to this post. This was kind of expected as I think the R community is by and large on the right side of history. A few people have taken issue with me naming political leaders and their supporters directly, thinking this is about political disagreement. This is not the case.
Bigotry is not politics!
You can be a republican and not support Trump. You can be a tory and not support Johnson and if you do I both applaud you for your conviction and welcome you to my small sphere of R packages. If you are a republican/tory and feel uneasy about the current leadership, but still choose to vote for them, you have put your morale values up for sale. This is entirely your choice. I will call you out on it.
Others have indicated that any type of disagreement should simply not have a bearing in the open source world. First, OS is activistic in its very nature, and second, good job on living a priviliged life if you think this is the first time people take a stand in the R world…