Linux Founder Linus Torvalds Chooses Poor Words on Open Source Diversity
The open source world has become politically charged once again in recent days as another leading figure made, then apparently regretted, sensitive remarks about diversity and "niceness." This time, they came from none other than Linus Torvalds, the founder of Linux and a key kernel developer.
The open source world has become politically charged once again in recent days as another leading figure made, then apparently regretted, sensitive remarks about diversity and “niceness.” This time, they came from none other than Linus Torvalds, the founder of Linux and a key kernel developer.
Torvalds has acquired a reputation over the years as a masterful programmer who is also painfully blunt. This image—which, in the interests of keeping this site family-friendly, we’ll link to instead of posting directly—encapsulates his approach to conflict.
That strategy has seemed to serve Torvalds, and the open source community he helps lead, well as a programmer. The development of the Linux kernel, one of the largest and most complex software projects in the world, whose contributors come from myriad different countries and speak a variety of distinct languages natively, chugs happily along—certainly better than, say, the Hurd kernel overseen by the more politically correct GNU folks, whose failure to mature into a stable operating system was a major impetus for Torvalds to start writing Linux in the early 1990s.
Last week, though, Torvalds faced heat for remarks he made at a New Zealand developer conference. Diversity-related considerations are “just details and not really important” in open source development, he said. Instead, “the most important part of open source is that people are allowed to do what they are good at.”
A few days later, seeming to regret the way he had come across, Torvalds sought to clarify part of his message. The new statement was not an apology, but a more politically correct articulation of Torvalds’s views regarding the importance of prioritizing programming skills over everything else within the open source realm. Still, it appeared to be an effort to mollify critics, and maybe reflected a tiny bit of contrition.
Chances are the controversy Torvalds recently generated will pass easily enough into oblivion. That’s what usually happens when politically sensitive issues arise in the open source world. But this is still a reminder of just how sensitive issues of diversity and equity are within this space, as they should be. While the decentralized nature of open source development presents great opportunities for helping, for instance, people whose native languages receive short shrift from proprietary developers, there’s good evidence that some groups — especially women, but perhaps others as well, whose marginalization has not yet been quantified — remain underrepresented in the open source world.
That might not have a serious impact on Torvalds’s ability to meet Linux kernel development goals. But it certainly reflects poorly on the open source community and its ethos of sharing and, well, openness.
I think I understand where
I think I understand where Linus is coming from. Open Source by nature has no inherent bias towards anything. It works on the idea that a good idea will grow its own support and reach some form of self-management. And yes, Linus has a particular style, which yes, might not appeal to everyone. I’m a happy Linux user, but would be hesitant to join the developers group.
I also don’t like this political correctness. Why must diversity enter the discussion. Most OS communities have a mission, the people contributing are not diverse in their support for that mission. Anything else is simply irrelevant. Linus drives the kernel development, even among developers, this is not for everyone. No one makes you use it, no one makes you join the developers, but AFAIK the way to make it in is by doing a good job and gaining trust from the established developers. To say some groups are not represented well in something strongly related to IT, well, is not really something new.
The basic crux is that a community does invite you, you have to knock on the door. A good community will however open the door and see if you are willing to be a productive part. In Open Source, this means you either code, translate, test, document, or simply become an advanced user, spread the word and help others. I fail to see how one could not understand the argument Linus makes (IMO), nor do I see how this reflects badly on Open Source. There is nothing that is more inviting for collaboration than Open Source. The selection is not on who you are, where you come from, but on what you do and how you fit in the communication style. The Linux kernel is just one such effort. There are a gazillion others.
The question is : “and ?”
I
The question is : “and ?”
I mean, there is few girls in science, in general, few girls in computer science. Where do you want to find girls to contribute ? It’s not like they forbid them to take part in open source movement.
GNU + Linux can’t fail
GNU + Linux can’t fail there!!