Comment by subjectsigma
10 months ago
I started reading the article, having little background on kernel drama, and ended it thinking to myself, “Jesus, what did this poor guy do to deserve all this hate?”
Then I read the thread you linked and thought, “Oh. That.”
To be clear nobody deserves to be harassed or threatened, but Hector’s messages make it clear he is astoundingly good at making himself into a victim of injustice. When his messages mentioned “cancer” I immediately thought that meant another kernel dev told someone to get cancer or die of cancer or something, which would be completely unacceptable. He was using the word metaphorically to describe the way Rust is slowly making its way into the kernel, like a cancer growing.
How anyone (read: Hector) could think this requires CoC action is baffling to me. Insane language policing.
> he is astoundingly good at making himself into a victim of injustice
This was my same thought. And then at the end of his rant, he writes:
> If you are interested in hiring me...
No one who values a drama-free work place would hire this person.
The funny thing for me is that Rust's mascot, Ferris, is a crab (or "rustacean").
The symbol for Cancer is also a crab. The very word "cancer" itself comes from the Greek "καρκίνος" (karkínos), meaning "crab".
Rust literally is Cancer.
And also all programming languages will evolve to look like it ;-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinisation
Is it possible to agree that having one’s work compared to cancer could be insulting but also that trying to publicly shame people about it isn’t the right response?
Yes, absolutely.
It seems at the heart of the issue is the vision for the future of Linux kernel.
One group believes it is Rust (progressives), one group doesn't believe that and wants to continue with C (conservatives).
If they cannot find a way to live at peace with each other, I think the only solution is for the Rust folks to start building the kernel in Rust and not try to "convert" the existing kernel to Rust piece by piece.
Why they cannot live in peace seems to be: a way that C kernel folks would not need to deal with Rust code.
At the core, the story is not that different from introducing new languages to a project.
You are introducing a new tax on everyone to pay for the new goodies you like, and those who are going to be taxed and don't like the new goodies are resisting.