Eric Foss is a math teacher who teaches Geometry and Algebra II at LHS. FOSS, on the other hand, stands for Free and Open Source Software. FOSS is a cornerstone of the internet, but recent debates over a new Code of Conduct being adopted by open source projects are exposing rifts between communities that keep the internet running.

Every LHS student uses open source software, whether it is in the form of Google Chrome (based on the Chromium browser), Chrome OS (based on Linux) or a phone that runs Android. These projects, like the Chromium browser and Linux, can be modified, added onto, edited. The software stays alive due to a community of developers who donate their time to add code and work out problems, much like Wikipedia.

According to itsfoss.com, the controversy first began when developer and activist Coraline Ada Ehmke started calling for a developer to be removed from the Opal project due to statements she had made on Twitter about transgender people. This launched the community into a general debate about “meritocracy,” the concept that society should value members who can contribute the most, or have the most merit.

Ehmke denounces the idea of meritocracy in her description of the “Contributor Covenant.” This project is a set of rules that communities can choose to require contributors to comply with. As the author of the Contributor Covenant, she believes that the leaders of a project should have the right to kick out key developers if they are engaging in harassment. Leaders like Linux’s Linus Torvalds have come under fire for harsh management styles which sometimes ventured into verbal abuse. Proponents of revised Codes of Conduct (or CoC’s) say that there is a toxic environment which needs to be addressed.

Opponents of Codes of Conduct like the Contributor Covenant are concerned that the rules will be used to ban members for simply having opposing political views. After Torvalds stepped down from the Linux project and publicly apologized for his behavior, he faced criticism for softening his harsh management style.

“‘Acting professional’ is really just another way of saying ‘act politically correct.’ It’s manipulative, deceptive, disingenuous, fake and it leads to all kinds of trouble” said Karel Donk in an editorial posted to Medium.com.

Developers like Donk believe that Torvald’s style is what has led to the success of Linux. Torvalds himself, however, expressed frustration with the issue.

“When there are disagreements, people in the end often have fairly clear and objective measures of what is better. Code that is faster, simpler, or handles more cases naturally is just objectively ‘better.’ In contrast, the arguments about behavior never seem to end up having a common goal.” said Torvalds to the BBC.

Most people probably will not see the effects of this debate. There have been some fears that developers will pull their code from projects, rendering them broken. However, the likelihood of this happening to the point of damaging software is unlikely. Although nothing drastic has occurred, the debate over the role of politics and conduct in open source communities will continue.