Avdi GrimmThe current chaos in WordPress caused by Matt seems like a good time to remind folks that the Mastodon “community” websites and trademarks are 100% owned by one man, despite pleas from current and former project members to make Mastodon a foundation with a board.
Dr. Angus Andrea Grieve-Smith@avdi Excellent point! But in the case of WordPress it seems that a foundation with a board has not been sufficient protection from paranoid one-person rule.
There are *actual* foundations in Open Source, such as Apache. Saying “a foundation wasn’t enough” in the case of WP is disingenuous.
@avdi Please don't accuse me of being disingenuous. You're agreeing that a foundation wasn't enough.
I just think it'll be more useful to point to a situation where a foundation works, not just one where it doesn't.
[Edited to avoid the impression Greg got that I'm demanding any kind of interaction or "discourse."]
Greg@grvsmth @avdi This is really "sea-lion" behavior, asking for examples and demanding discourse. There is no Gartner Magic Quadrant for OSS Foundations upon which to compare them. If one did exist, I think it would highlight that there are different dimensions over which these foundations can fail or succeed. And they can fail or succeed harder at some times than others. But comparing them all is like judging a box of mangoes. You're usually better off having the worst one than none at all.
@gregdavis Okay, I mis-spoke. I shouldn't have said "I'm asking," because I don't actually want @avdi to do or say anything in particular. I was just defending myself from his accusation of disingenuous behavior.
In my original reply I was expressing frustration at a pattern I've seen before, and hoping that my comment would add helpful clarity.
But really, Greg: "sea lion" accusations are generally not constructive. Please find another way to say you think someone's being too demanding.
Scott Bronson