
The Open Source Identity Crisis - dorkitude
http://modelviewculture.com/pieces/the-open-source-identity-crisis
======
alexqgb
In pointing out that "merit" can be freely defined, this piece shows that
meritocracies are, in fact, arbitrary. If there's a key line, it seems to be
this one:

"This is about who these people believe open source is for, and by extension,
their own self-identity. Indeed, when people are challenged to explain
themselves, you get nonsense and cognitive dissonance. People are being openly
hypocritical, with no apparent awareness. The closer they get to confronting
the truth, the more likely they are to break down in anger and confusion."

What's worth noting is that this pattern - of a previously secure group
finding itself set upon by "outsiders" wanting in - is repeated in many
spheres. Typically, the combination of limited self-awareness, egregious
hypocrisy, and a flood of blinding, reflexive anger does not work out well for
the group of people who display it.

At the same time, dis-empowering gatekeepers who behave like this tends to be
a major boon for the fields they previously dominated without challenge.

------
dang
The HN software originally killed this article because the submitting account
had been flagged for posting HN-inappropriate articles in the past (e.g.
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7847688](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7847688)
and
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6535840](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6535840)).

This had nothing to do either with the present post or with the site, which is
not banned:
[https://hn.algolia.com/?q=modelviewculture#!/story/sort_by_d...](https://hn.algolia.com/?q=modelviewculture#!/story/sort_by_date/0/modelviewculture).

~~~
dorkitude
Very sorry if I've broken any HN rules. I didn't know those posts weren't HN-
appropriate (or even that I had been flagged!).

I don't mind being called out when I'm out of order, because I see it as an
opportunity to become a better community citizen. But it's hard to become a
better community citizen without some corrective advice.

Would you please point me to the code of conduct (and ideally to the specific
rules I've broken), so I can be better in the future?

~~~
lotharbot
[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

I would consider memes, jokes, and funny stories to generally fit in the realm
of "off topic".

------
krustysanchez
Oh shit, now you've got the angry twitter feminists on you. It's _on_.

Expect them to rally their fellow feminists and drop a lot of f-bombs on you
(it makes them seem more passionate/angry/edgy).

