The Code of Conduct (CoC) Gaslighting Phenomenon
About a year ago Daniel Pocock gave a talk in the US. Among the topics covered was the simple fact that Debian does allow politics, as long as the sponsors and rulers of Debian agree with those politics (Debian has begun targeting Simon Quigley). That's what the CoC exists for: it's a selective enforcement and expulsion tool. It lets a few people coerce others into confessions, forced "apologies", free labour etc.
2 days ago Pocock wrote about a late John Brosnan, noting: "Peter Norden AO, then Policy Director for Jesuit Social Services gave the eulogy. He makes some interesting comments about Fr Brosnan's philosophy. This is invaluable to our understanding of the flaws in the Code of Conduct (CoC) gaslighting phenomena."
From the quoted eulogy: "The demand for his presence in public forums and as an after-dinner speaker was unbelievable and his capacity for this did not diminish with the years. He was often asked how he survived 30 years in the Nick. He would refer to four ancient documents that were a big help, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He would also quote words of wisdom from Henry Lawson. John Brosnan was able to speak on sensitive issues, such as the need for prison reform, in a way that was hard to take offence, even in an entertaining but always respectful manner. Through this means, he was able to help the wider community consider and reflect on the complex issues of crime and punishment."
In Free software communities we've seen large companies (not limited to GAFAM) paying or paving their way into influence/power, in turn constructing jails and gulags, typically accommodated by corporate panels such as a Code of Conduct (CoC) Committee, or CoCC. This is not inadvertent. It's always about control. The money is conditional and has strings attached to it. There are still many people and projects foolish enough to outsource their labour to Microsoft via GitHub. When will they learn? There are no "golden" bars (or cages) and the conditions will only deteriorate over time. Because for-profit prisons optimise for profits (or revenue), not happiness. Slop is about abusing the tenants as misery pays off. █