Shedding light on a three-month suspension

[gussis (Lorene Walden)]

Al’s quotes from Tim are from https://discuss.python.org/t/inclusive-communications-expectations-in-python-spaces/57950

@AlSweigart

People see a space where they have to tolerate rude dismissals and they find somewhere else. When Tim says, “It’s actually a very plain meaning of “welcoming”: “you’re welcome to join. Period.”. It didn’t come with pages of subjective fine print .” and “In the “good old days”, Python was more welcoming to my eyes. For example, some developers are just plain hard to work with, routinely impatient and dismissive.” I know exactly the social dynamics he describes, and I’m glad the Python community and elected leadership has moved past this hazing and just-grow-a-thick-skin era so that it can be truly welcoming space. I hope Tim moves on as well.

@AlSweigart

Tim has made quite clear that he has incredibly thick skin when it comes to dealing with others, and that he’d like Python to go back to the days where the behavior necessitating a thick skin was tolerated.

Well, no. For context, more quotes, further down the page in the Inclusive Communications topic:

@tim.one

[Ned Batchelder]
I’m fully in favor of the community educating or excluding someone who is “routinely impatient and dismissive.” Allowing that behavior drives other people out. It’s a bad tradeoff.

[Tim]
I actually agree. In the early days, Python was in much more of a “beggars can’t be choosers” category. It outgrew that long ago.

So Tim said he agrees with the community educating or excluding someone who is “routinely impatient and dismissive,” not that he wants to go back to the way things used to be.

@AlSweigart

Tim didn’t like a proposed bylaw change, and when it passed in a 4 to 1 landslide (he never mentions the fact that people overwhelmingly just plain disagreed with him) instead of dropping it and moving on, he added new topics and accusations. The common thread between all of them is 1) forcing other people to spend time and energy responding to him and 2) attempting to delegitimize the official channels for censuring members for their behavior.

But he did drop it and move on, said nothing more about the bylaw change. He started one new topic, “How can we better support neurodivergent newcomers to the community?” I don’t think anyone was forced to participate. He hoped to “spark introspection and discussion.”