I'm a NixOS committer. I avoid Discourse and Matrix and thus avoid almost all drama.
My impression is that:
* NixOS had light governance for many years, which used to be enough, but wasn't enough to adress disagreements as of around 2022.
* A moderation team partially filled that governance gap, but it was seen to be politically motivated, and is now being held accountable by an elected body (the steering committee).
* This shift in power has resulted in tensions.
* NixOS users skew a little idiosyncratic in general. I'd hazard a guess this coincides with wanting full control of their machines, and being willing to upend the status quo to do so.
I'm hopeful that as more governance is rooted in the elected body, we'll have less tension over time.
I'm thankful for all contributors who make NixOS for what it is today.
Same here! I don’t have a problem with people having different opinions than mine, but when they start banning core contributors for that, it’s just a matter of time before ship goes down. I kind of hoped I was wrong and after all this time the dust settled - not because I was going to use it again, but because the project is a very cool idea.
By “political bickering”, do you mean debates over organizational direction/technical flame wars, debates over political philosophy/ideology, or something else?
My impression is that:
* NixOS had light governance for many years, which used to be enough, but wasn't enough to adress disagreements as of around 2022.
* A moderation team partially filled that governance gap, but it was seen to be politically motivated, and is now being held accountable by an elected body (the steering committee).
* This shift in power has resulted in tensions.
* NixOS users skew a little idiosyncratic in general. I'd hazard a guess this coincides with wanting full control of their machines, and being willing to upend the status quo to do so.
I'm hopeful that as more governance is rooted in the elected body, we'll have less tension over time.
I'm thankful for all contributors who make NixOS for what it is today.