Bryan Lunduke
July 02, 2024
The NixOS project -- a Linux distribution and packaging system which has achieved significant success -- has descended into chaos as political activists seek to implement extreme, discriminatory policies... and ban those who raise objections to the discrimination.
As the political activists within NixOS put it: They are committing a "purge" of people they call "Nazis".
First, a little background to set the stage for this wild tale...
The typical pattern, within any given software project or company, goes something like this:
A few recent examples of this bullying within major Linux and Open Source projects:
Back in April, 2024, leadership within NixOS saught to create a new committee (focused on approving monetary sponsors of Nix).
I know. A committee talking about sponsorships. Boring, right? Trust me, this gets crazy.
A small group of individuals -- who are best described as "Political Activists" -- demanded that this small committee must include dedicated seats for people identified as "Gender Minority". (Aka: "Trans" People.)
Source: Nix Sponsorship Policy Discussion, 2024-04-07
Some NixOS project contributors raised concerns about having dedicated voting seats for one specific "minority group" (but not for others).
The core of these concerns seemed to be that this was, effectively, discriminating against some groups in order to provide a disproportionate advantage for one specific group (Trans).
Source: NixOS forum
So far, this is a pretty simple story.
Unfortunately, things get dark. Really dark. In a hurry.
They began, what they called, a "purge".
Source: Mastodon screenshot of a chat session
"What is needed is a purge," stated one of the NixOS leaders who advocated for the "Trans Only Seat", referring to people who disagreed with his stance.
"I don't disagree," stated another.
The desire to conduct a "purge" continued... with the libelous attacks ramping up.
Source: Mastodon
This same NixOS leader referred to the NixOS project as a "Nazi bar" (referring to many of the people raising objections to the "Trans Only Seat")... reiterated the need for a "purge"... and finished it off with an image of the Antifa flag.
Context of using the Antifa Flag: Within the United States, many local governments and organizations consider Antifa to be a violent, terrorist organization. Antifa has claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks (including riots, attempts to burn down Federal government buildings, and violent assaults on journalists). "Antifa" has a track record of labeling any who oppose them as "Nazis". That this symbol would be used, by NixOS Foundation Leadership, while calling for a "purge" of the "Nazis" they disagree with, is significant and worth noting.
On April 21st, 2024, the "Purge" begins.
Source: NixOS Moderation Log of some people banned as part of "the purge".
Over the days that followed, several contributors to NixOS were suspended from the project -- including forums and other communication systems (with some individuals, eventually, completely banned).
After an exhaustive search, The Lunduke Journal was unable to find a single instance where the banned and suspended individuals made any derogatory statements against "Trans" individuals or any other groups.
These "purged" people were labeled as "Nazis" by some NixOS leaders... in many cases because they were not sufficiently supportive of the concept of a "Trans Only Seat" on a voting committee (among other political topics).
It didn't stop with the rank-and-file contributors to NixOS, either. It went all the way to the top, with accusations being posted regarding the founder of Nix, Eelco Dolstra. Prompting a response from the Nix founder.
Source: Blog post by Nix founder, Eelco Dolstra
"I must express my deep disappointment and disbelief at the accusation of excluding people from minority or marginalized backgrounds," stated the Nix founder in a blog post on April 26th.
The following day, the Nix Foundation Board denounced the words of the Nix founder.
Then -- and this seriously happened -- the Nix Foundation Board began drafting an abdication letter on behalf of the NixOS founder.
Screenshot of the Google Doc where the abdication letter was drafted.
This is real. Eelco Dolstra, the founder of Nix, had an abdication letter written for him and was pressured into signing it. One of the drafters made a note to the Nix Founder that he must add himself as a signatory of the letter "for it to appear amicable".
The abdication letter was posted, with the Nix Founder as a signatory, on April 30th.
Political extremists taking over a successful Open Source project -- from the inside -- and imposing wild, discriminatory, political policies. Followed by the vilification -- and mass "purge" -- of any who opposed their extremist politics... culminating in the (seemingly forced) abdication of the founder of the project itself.
And, perhaps even more wild, is the fact that this is only a small fraction of the NixOS story.
A story with a huge number of players, and hundreds of pages of documents. In-fighting. Abuse. Politics. And more than a few swear words.
What's more... the saga continues to unfold, with NixOS itself currently in a state of chaos at the hands of a small number of political activists.
But the rest of this story... is for another day.
Source (Archive)
July 02, 2024
The NixOS project -- a Linux distribution and packaging system which has achieved significant success -- has descended into chaos as political activists seek to implement extreme, discriminatory policies... and ban those who raise objections to the discrimination.
As the political activists within NixOS put it: They are committing a "purge" of people they call "Nazis".
First, a little background to set the stage for this wild tale...
Not actively pro-Trans? You're a Nazi!
There is a significant, easily observable pattern of extreme bullying emerging within the Linux & Open Source world: One where people are forced to declare allegiance to "Trans Issues", or face severe consequences.The typical pattern, within any given software project or company, goes something like this:
- Trans Activists bully people into giving a disproportionately large amount of power (and praise) to people who identify as "Trans" -- often discriminating against "non-Trans" people in the process.
- If someone raises concerns regarding that discrimination: That person is called a "Nazi", "White Supremacist", and "Transphobe".
- That person is then banned from the project, community, or company (likewise, anyone who defends or agrees with that person is also banned).
A few recent examples of this bullying within major Linux and Open Source projects:
- openSUSE declared that anyone who does not fully support "Trans" activities -- and wave the "Pride Flags" -- is "Rotten Flesh" who should be banned from the entire Linux world.
- Asahi & elementary Linux both made a policy of not allowing any users or contributors who do not actively support "Trans" activities.
- The Hyprland creator was banned, by a Red Hat employee, from the Free Desktop project after a perceived lack of reverence for "Trans" activities and "pronouns".
The NixOS "Trans Only" Committee Seat
This story begins, as most wild tales do, in an incredibly dull way.Back in April, 2024, leadership within NixOS saught to create a new committee (focused on approving monetary sponsors of Nix).
I know. A committee talking about sponsorships. Boring, right? Trust me, this gets crazy.
A small group of individuals -- who are best described as "Political Activists" -- demanded that this small committee must include dedicated seats for people identified as "Gender Minority". (Aka: "Trans" People.)
Source: Nix Sponsorship Policy Discussion, 2024-04-07
Some NixOS project contributors raised concerns about having dedicated voting seats for one specific "minority group" (but not for others).
The core of these concerns seemed to be that this was, effectively, discriminating against some groups in order to provide a disproportionate advantage for one specific group (Trans).
Source: NixOS forum
So far, this is a pretty simple story.
- One group wants a dedicated "Trans only" seat on a voting committee.
- Another group is concerned that this would be discriminatory.
- The two disagree... and discuss.
Unfortunately, things get dark. Really dark. In a hurry.
The NixOS "Purge"
Instead of the two sides discussing their differences -- and coming to some sort of agreement -- the political activists (the "Trans Only Seat" group) decided to take a more... intense approach.They began, what they called, a "purge".
Source: Mastodon screenshot of a chat session
"What is needed is a purge," stated one of the NixOS leaders who advocated for the "Trans Only Seat", referring to people who disagreed with his stance.
"I don't disagree," stated another.
The desire to conduct a "purge" continued... with the libelous attacks ramping up.
Source: Mastodon
This same NixOS leader referred to the NixOS project as a "Nazi bar" (referring to many of the people raising objections to the "Trans Only Seat")... reiterated the need for a "purge"... and finished it off with an image of the Antifa flag.
Context of using the Antifa Flag: Within the United States, many local governments and organizations consider Antifa to be a violent, terrorist organization. Antifa has claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks (including riots, attempts to burn down Federal government buildings, and violent assaults on journalists). "Antifa" has a track record of labeling any who oppose them as "Nazis". That this symbol would be used, by NixOS Foundation Leadership, while calling for a "purge" of the "Nazis" they disagree with, is significant and worth noting.
On April 21st, 2024, the "Purge" begins.
Source: NixOS Moderation Log of some people banned as part of "the purge".
Over the days that followed, several contributors to NixOS were suspended from the project -- including forums and other communication systems (with some individuals, eventually, completely banned).
After an exhaustive search, The Lunduke Journal was unable to find a single instance where the banned and suspended individuals made any derogatory statements against "Trans" individuals or any other groups.
These "purged" people were labeled as "Nazis" by some NixOS leaders... in many cases because they were not sufficiently supportive of the concept of a "Trans Only Seat" on a voting committee (among other political topics).
It didn't stop with the rank-and-file contributors to NixOS, either. It went all the way to the top, with accusations being posted regarding the founder of Nix, Eelco Dolstra. Prompting a response from the Nix founder.
Source: Blog post by Nix founder, Eelco Dolstra
"I must express my deep disappointment and disbelief at the accusation of excluding people from minority or marginalized backgrounds," stated the Nix founder in a blog post on April 26th.
The following day, the Nix Foundation Board denounced the words of the Nix founder.
Then -- and this seriously happened -- the Nix Foundation Board began drafting an abdication letter on behalf of the NixOS founder.
Screenshot of the Google Doc where the abdication letter was drafted.
This is real. Eelco Dolstra, the founder of Nix, had an abdication letter written for him and was pressured into signing it. One of the drafters made a note to the Nix Founder that he must add himself as a signatory of the letter "for it to appear amicable".
The abdication letter was posted, with the Nix Founder as a signatory, on April 30th.
The NixOS Saga is Not Finished
This, truly, is a crazy tale.Political extremists taking over a successful Open Source project -- from the inside -- and imposing wild, discriminatory, political policies. Followed by the vilification -- and mass "purge" -- of any who opposed their extremist politics... culminating in the (seemingly forced) abdication of the founder of the project itself.
And, perhaps even more wild, is the fact that this is only a small fraction of the NixOS story.
A story with a huge number of players, and hundreds of pages of documents. In-fighting. Abuse. Politics. And more than a few swear words.
What's more... the saga continues to unfold, with NixOS itself currently in a state of chaos at the hands of a small number of political activists.
But the rest of this story... is for another day.
Source (Archive)
