(#debian-gnome @ irc.oftc.net)

So this is what GNOME developers worry about!

Apparently there’s a rogue developer named “panthera” who is hated by some of his fellow developers. He destabilizes Debian GNOME just before package freeze dates. There are technical issues with his code. He shuts down repositories just to annoy people. And he refuses to work with anyone. And despite being told about his deficiencies, he hasn’t improved; it’s actually gotten worse.

So, why hasn’t this apparent GNOME problem been fixed? The answer is included in the chat I copied.

GNOME is social club, so all the problems are argued on a social basis. There is no formal process for kicking out a rogue developer who causes problems felt by both developers and users.

However, this is not what disturbs me the most.

I stopped using GNOME a while ago. I was researching GNOME for a technical write-up, and I was trying to determine if GNOME had (like other Linux distros) an official help and support chatroom. It turns out there is. According to GNOME website this is the “Official Debian GNOME channel”

This is official? I recorded this disturbing chat in the OFFICIAL channel. This is an open channel, where users meet developers to ask questions and get support for GNOME.

Apparently, with GNOME being a social club and all, and there being no formal process for developers to complain or air their differences about each other, conversations like this take place regardless of whether there are users watching or needing help.