A reader from Jordan reminded me some days ago that Microsoft does the same thing to LUGs.

Having been involved in some relatively big-scale FOSS projects I know that things can, sorry, *will* go downhill rapidly if only one or two key persons in the hard core change their behavior to the worse. Let someone in who conflicts with the basic project principles or generally accepted practice. He will be considered an arse but kept in the team anyway because he gets work done, of which there is a lot.

Especially on projects with a deadline, he can prevent being kicked out by simply working hard, so he can continue poisoning the spirit of the project. Due to the others being pissed off, progress will increasingly feel like wading through molasses, and then there is that moment that feels like a container ship running onto a sandbank and leaking full of water. Last stop, baby!