Hi everyone. I figured I should have a chance to respond.
I started leading the Nix team at Anduril on Aug 25th. I informed the SC the week before and my employer the week before that. I had considered not updating my public LinkedIn, expecting it might be the target of some drama - and the unfortunate timing coinciding with NixCon - but I thought that reflecting the truth was the best course of action and updated it on the day I started. This was a busy time for many members of the SC and the SC did not have an established practice of widely announcing employment changes by any member.
This new employment does not represent any change in my views and stances about how the Nix community should engage with industry, including the defense industry; I continue to advocate for more adoption and participation from everyone interested and able to do so. I cannot think of an issue I would decide differently based on my employment. If you disagree with my approach or my assessment of the situation, feel free to reach out and we can have a longer discussion than is possible in this limited forum. I’m not going for gotcha points or to win some public debate, but trying to work for greater adoption. That is my ultimate goal.
For those who reached out to me to give words of support; thank you.
I heard from people with whom I have deep disagreements, but who still gave words of sympathy and empathy. I appreciate this maturity as it demonstrates that diverse people can still work together on a shared goal. Communities form when different people unite around a common purpose.
For those who are outraged that this entire thread has even gone this far; I agree. But do not respond in-kind or lash out or act childish, it only serves to make this problem harder to solve. Instead, focus your energies on improving Nix, maintaining Nixpkgs (I remember trying to keep the PR count below 2000… I guess I failed), joining teams, participating in voting, and encouraging Nix adoption wherever you can. There is nothing to be gained by continuing to debate in this thread - try not to get suckered into it.
For those who completely object to my continued participation or that of Anduril, and yearn for an organization which takes a stronger stance on political or social issues; I encourage you to create such organizations and wish you luck in your endeavors. I may even support some of them, but I do not believe that is the role of the Foundation.
I’ve heard from some who do not want to get involved due to the potential of being targeted by a public mob. This possibility affected their actions. Paraphrasing: “I don’t really care too much about XYZ, but I can’t take the personal or professional risk to be the center of controversy.” This means fear has become the deciding factor or at least that it is not worth the risk or their time. This is rational behavior by any individual and I do not blame anyone for it. But we must be clear; this is a failure. I’m sad to say this is a failure of the community leadership, including myself, to protect people from bullying behavior, from the fear of being targeted by a mob stirred up by a few people intent on causing chaos and drama, who then point to that very chaos as the justification for creating more of it. Instead, we are setting the standard that the community uses established mechanisms for governance, not the court of social media and not the volume of passionate rabble-rousing.
There is cause for optimism. We have a Board that is getting matters organized. We have had a successful NixCon with a huge amount of participants and sponsors - and I heard it was a blast. I apologize for missing it this year; (bad timing with the job switch, oops). The Steering Committee has been able to work together, build trust over time, and establish a governance mechanism that is functioning. None of this is as perfect or speedy or as ideal as we would like; that is okay. There were potential flare-ups that have not become a distraction for the community due to the SC doing its job. I hope we can also move forward with more positive activities, such as refining a roadmap and establishing core teams, rather than crisis control. The broader response to this incident seems to be “who cares?” and a disdain for the drama. I am optimistic about Nix’s future.
In summary; thank you everyone for widely disseminating my resume, and keep on Nix’ing.