[ Changed the subject because it was indeed off-topic ] On Wed, Sep 24, 2025 at 5:39 AM Ron via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
At the risk of going off-topic ******************************
At the risk of going off-topic, that guy who posted the video, David Heinemeier Hansson, is a recognizable name. He's the guy behind Ruby.
He's also been in the news because a week ago he published a controversial post that might be worth mentioning here:
As I remember London [...] Some people might be uncomfortable associating with DHH after that.
I did not know anything about Hansson's post, but knowing it now does not and will not change my interest in the software. With very few exceptions I have no problem separating the artist from the art. I enjoy Woody Allen movies. I have no problem with Harry Potter books. I think Dave Chappelle is a genius. I shop at Home Depot. I like Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Starlink is a globally-useful innovation. And Volkswagen makes fine cars. I do disagree with the politics and political history of a number of the above, but even worse IMO is the guilt-by-association. I consider it, and its natural evolution to cancel culture of all persuasions, to be massively harmful to a free society. I've seen this polarization destroy longtime relationships and inhibit vital conversations. In the case of the Omarchy software itself, Hansson's strong commitment to open source, extensive documentation, ease of use and graphic simplicity are the ethics that matter to me. To me, the link between using a coder's software and endorsing their global politics is ludicrous. That and the DHH post being highly sympathetic to "Tommy Robinson" makes me
hesitant to touch anything he's involved with at this time.
FWIW I have family in the UK and they're scared shitless of their country that is increasingly pursuing thought-crime as the solution to its many problems. Happy to engage further, but not in this thread. Not in a mood to be very forgiving of that stuff these days.
There are some things about which I feel very strongly. However, even moreso I believe that there is no hope in this polarized world without some forgiveness, conversation, and finding common ground. The heat badly needs to be dialed down all around, while politicians and media (old and new) do just the opposite. Happy to talk offline since most of this is WAY out of scope ... except for the parts that impede one's ability to have the best possible open source software experience. - Evan