Thoughts on XLibre
I have strong opinions on XLibre.
As I understand it, enrico got banned from FDO for not being able to properly explain his "improvements," failing to collaborate, and pushing code that broke things while mostly being cosmetic.
He's also an anti-woke type who talks like a 4channer with conspiratorial takes (see the LKML incident). This isn't about me disagreeing with his politics here, i'm talking MO. If a project claims to be politically neutral, having a "non-DEI" stance contradicts that. Saying you're "neutral" while pushing back on a specific ideology is just silly. To add to that, Lunduke was CC'd on the announcement email enrico sent out, which left a sour taste for me. It reads like he's chasing media attention, especially given Lunduke's reputation. Sadly, it seems to have worked. If the project really stood on its own, CC'ing a reporter known for stirring the pot wouldn't be necessary. It comes off as weird and kind of desperate. Do better Enrico.
Take a look at their discussion boards now if you want an idea of the kind of people XLibre attracts. CW: Antisemitism, Slur Use, Transphobia, etc, you name it: [Mailing list message](
https://www.freelists.org/post/xlibre/Proposal-Standards-for-respectful-and-civilized-communication,6)
For an "apolitical" project, they *sure* do love talking politics.
Personally, I don't trust people with that kind of mindset to make quality software. Conspiracy-driven thinking usually bleeds into the work. If your project is technically solid, it doesn't need that kind of stuff in the readme. To be clear, I'm all for technical merit. XLibre *might* have had a chance if the actual merit of the project was the focus not the weird anti-Woke approach and the political "apolitical" MO they're taking now. :/
I'm not very optimistic about the future of Xlibre right now. It looks like someone got called out for bad contributions and decided to throw an open source tantrum and brought all of his weird 4chan friends to join on the Tea party.
I genuinely hope Xlibre succeeds. no ill will toward Enrico and his friends. I'm just concerned about where it's headed. He seriously needs to reconsider how he's going about this.
It's an ambitious goal, and I hope he can deliver. but realistically, I don't see it happening right now. Time will tell.
Its like Enrico shot the project in the foot before trying to run a marathon with it.
tags: x11, xlibre, unix, open-source, culture, ethics, project-management
