As someone who was also privy to those chats I want to add some context of my own.
The actual reality is that the Steering Committee voted to remove K900 for diverse reasons. There were four votes in favor of removing K900 (myself included) and arguably up to four different rationales for removing K900. Even though we had a majority in favor of the removal we did not have a consistent reason for why we were removing K900 even though we agreed upon the outcome. When @jtojnar pointed out (on behalf of John) that some of those quotes were taken out of context what he meant is that the committee was asked to publicly explain the decision and John internally took upon himself to help gather and present a uniform rationale for the decision.
This is not my way of saying that I believe Winter was wrong to blow the whistle on those internal communications. The Steering Committee being unable to articulate a clear and consistent public rationale for their decisions is itself an indictment upon the committee given that we’re already under fire for a lack of transparency and poor communication and engagement with the community. That’s why yesterday I called for a vote of no confidence since I believe that none of us (myself included) are serving the community well and there should be a fresh vote for all members of the Steering Committee in this upcoming election.