[bgpl10]

There aren't enough competent people around, and even fewer who prefer the same workflow as the original author.

What really happens if you open up the code base: Mediocre people who want something for their resume flock to it, work on unimportant issues, add bloat, CoCs and generally make your life hell.

[trboyden]

I believe that is anti-community in spirit and non-conductive to solving the issue you claim exists. Many developers breath of knowledge extends only to that they have experience with personally. Maybe they joined the project because they want to learn something which you can only do by diving in, making mistakes, and learning as you gain experience. How many developers that could evolve into great developers have been stunted because someone denied them the opportunity to become competent? Once you open something up to contributors, it becomes everyone's responsibility to learn how to work together effectively and productively and changes should be discussed and adopted based on what is best for everyone. I am certain it would be possible to establish mentorship and technical review committees that can both ensure the quality of the end product and encourage growth in the particular specialty area the project addresses.

[johnr2]

> How many developers that could evolve into great developers have been stunted because someone denied them the opportunity to become competent?

Nobody is denying anyone. The code is there to read as an example. If an aspiring developer hasn't got the initiative to develop at least a basic level of competence on their own, that's their problem. What happened to self-reliance?

[clellan]

I think your reply makes he same mistakes as some popular ideologies in the last century. They look good on paper, but fail to acknowledge reality and human nature.

If you think mentorship and technical review committees can solve anything: They cannot. People who are warming the chairs in those committees never do any actual work on the issue trackers and try to bully the real workers.

[johnr2]

> I believe that is anti-community in spirit and non-conductive to solving the issue you claim exists.

You presumably haven't encountered this issue with your own open-source projects, but that doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist.