A very iterative thread in my life is the belief that people don’t suck. Through continuous experience with areas where the factuality of this philosophy has present and practical application this position remains reinforced despite common consensus to the contrary. There may not be anything more defining of my experience other than a consistent resistance to the idea that only by the overbearing hand of God or Law does humanity unwillingly refrain from Perpetual Evil.
Yesterday as in many other typical days there was a conversation much to this point. Talking with a group of industry analysts about “Information Sharing and Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity” (points at the shirt he is wearing: Geeky and Proud) the summary of an hour of challenges and risks comes down to the reality that these systems are not constantly attacked by folks who want to kill Gramma in her old-age home:
Because people just don’t suck that much.
Today, another little artifact crosses my bow which makes me think again of the fallacy of negativity, and to share this note with you here. With a lovely twist of recursive logic on topic the Linkedin Open Source group I manage passes 100,000 members today. This forum for the free sharing on the topic of sharing freely flourishes in the looming absence of almost any of the controls imposed on similar forums. Through the diligent application of virtually none of the effort common wisdom dictates must be exercised, it performs its purpose more effectively and efficiently for a larger population than almost any comparable peer.
To mark the moment for the population of the Open Source group I posted the following this morning:
100,000 Members!
Hi folks!
This forum now has a population greater than all but 285 US cities. A population greater than any city in Delaware, Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, or Wyoming. There are now only a dozen stadiums on the planet large enough to host a meeting of all of us (and at the current growth rate, only five by the end of April).
More than simply a measure of bulk, though, what is worth noting is that this group has maintained content and conversation of value through the very same process that has driven Open Source software to predominate the planet. Unlike many Linkedin groups, there are neither entry restrictions nor draconian moderation “protecting” this forum, and yet neither is there an overwhelming background hum of spam.
The official moderation team of this group makes up 0.003% of the membership (that’s three people, for the non-engineering members ;~) and relies largely on the organic efforts of members to maintain civility and content. Kudos to Ian Finlay and Greg Krsak who do all the real work, and to the entire membership for proving again that the foundational philosophies of Open Source apply as well to the real world as to cloistered academia.
The basic truths that have driven Open Source code to dominate the global landscape – and which are borne out here – come down to a simple but crucial philosophical position:
*** Most people are reasonable most of the time***
Were this not true the Open Source community would not exist, the Internet would not remain operable for five minutes at a time and a forum like this one would be unmanageable.
As with Open Source coding efforts, the simplest filter with the lightest touch applied consistently has proven the most effective model for moderating this forum (really a spammer? out, bye. Everyone else, just be civil). Neither “a mind so open your brain falls out” nor the flinch-paranoia news media outlets might inspire. The realization that we really don’t need to fear the vast majority of our neighbors, combined with a consensus maturity that does not argue with insincerity.
While really nothing more important than just another discussion forum, this particular group serves to demonstrate more than its content includes. Thank you for your participation here, your belief in Open Source, your positive efforts to make the world a better place to be and for letting me play a small role in all of that with you.
-cheers!
-chris
From about 20,000 to 50,000 members I did the moderation myself, which took about two minutes per day on average. Today Ian and Greg do the majority of the work and don’t spend more than that amount of effort. The only guidance for membership is a set of statements not much different than the consensus mind of the Moose concocted for our local purposes.
Open Source Group – Welcome and Group Guidelines
…………………………………………………………………..Welcome to the Open Source Linkedin Group.
The purpose of this group is to provide a forum for Open Source Developers, Vendors, Consumers and other interested parties to share information regarding Open Source endeavors.
This group is lightly moderated – meaning that while the intent is to have an unimpeded exchange of information, certain basic guidelines will be enforced. These guidelines are as follows:
o Please do not post unrelated information.
– Discussions that have no relevance whatsoever to Open Source – your unmatched Social Marketing services, weight loss plans, hair tonics, etc – will be deleted without notice. At the discretion of the Moderators, posters of such content may receive one warning message to change their ways or may be summarily removed from the Group and have all of their content deleted.
– There is a Jobs discussion area. Please use it if you are looking for work, looking to hire or offering career related services.
o Please be civil.
– No personal attacks, name calling or other sophomoric behavior is acceptable. Such comments or other such content will be removed by the Moderators. Repeat offenders will be removed from the Group and all of their content will be deleted.
o Please be clear.
– If your posts are highly questionable as to relevance they may be removed and emailed back to you for you to clarify. Consider taking a moment to post something more than a link with no commentary, for example.
o Please avoid “pure-sales” posts.
– We all appreciate that there are vendors who would benefit from convincing the membership of this group that their products or services are worth paying for (some of us are those vendors). Where you can present your products or services to this group in a manner that adds value and is appropriate for the forum you are welcome to do so. Where you present your products or services to this group in a manner that is inappropriate for the forum you may find that a Moderator has removed your content from the Group and emailed it back to you for your reconsideration. Extreme repeat offenders will be removed from the Group and all of their content will be deleted.
As a member-driven Group these guidelines are open for discussion at any time.
In a world populated by intelligent, decent and reasonable people the social compact required is a very light burden to bear. It is woven from fibers of respect, it acknowledges the right to rationality and it is worn purely by choice. Where we try too hard to capture and compel decency it slips through our hands, where we entrench suspicion we become suspect.
At each point of the political compass we find ways to lose sight of the truth of human decency. From the cold heights of Conservatism to the harsh light of Liberalism, the heavy chains of Authoritarianism to the tall walls of Libertarianism, every ideology taken to its extreme seeks to eliminate all risk at the cost of all value. For the human condition to fulfill its potential we must always acknowledge the intrinsic virtue of humanity as the first premise and only then consider the liberality of our conservation, the authority of our liberty. We have to understand that we can trust each other, before we can trust each other to understand.
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