When an open source community implodes...

Submitted by Bryan on October 12, 2007 - 11:43am

I make it a habit not to post community squabbles that often take place in any IT project (whether open source or not).  When people have the best intentions and respect the opinions of others, I don't believe it is right for me or anyone else to publicly exploit discussions that are meant to remain within the community.  However, the conflicts going on at XOOPS.org have been made so public that it's hard for me to put a lot of faith in a project that treats its own people so poorly.

For examples on the kind of discussions that continue to put XOOPS in a bad light, you can read the two news headlines listed below.  These headlines were posted on the front page of XOOPS.org and you should also read the comments below the article.

Organizational behaviorists will tell you that healthy conflict plays an important role in helping improve an organization, a product, and even the individuals involved.  Unhealthy conflict that is driven on emotion, without respect, and without a win-win goal is not in the best interest of any party.  So would you say the conflicts currently going on with the XOOPS CMS are healthy or not?

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I read through the links and

Submitted by AmyStephen on October 13, 2007 - 10:02am.

I read through the links and agree on one thing, it's a mess. It's too bad when conflict reaches that level with free software.

One thing I have learned is what it really means to me to be a community. Some assume since they use software, they are automatically members of the community, and therefore have rights to be heard, etc., etc. And that is simply not true. I use Open Office, but I do not help them with the work and I do not financially support that project, so, honestly, while I could be counted as a member of the end user "community", I am not really part of that community. I am not a contributor.

It's important for people to respect the direction of an open source project and support those responsible for guiding the effort. And, it's important to remember that you will likely not participate with any one project your entire life. Relationships change. Interests change. You won't always agree.

But, if you find that your involvement is causing the kind of stress and unrest that reaches this degree of conflict, your involvement is no longer helping, but it is seriously hurting the community. As a result, for whatever reason, it's time to exit stage left, quietly, with respect.

When you contribute to a project, it's not "about you", it's about the project. It's not about "your rights", it's about making free software available to the world. It's about doing everything possible to get that software out there where it can help people communicate and reach their communities.

Contributors come and go, but the impact of their work is forever. Participation should not continue past the point of improving the project. Fault finding is not helpful and many times, it is simply not possible or worth the effort to reconcile these problems. Just move on and let your work and reputation speak on your behalf.

Amy Stephen
http://OpenSourceCommunity.org

n/a