Community (A Modest Proposal)

[rantingrick]

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 Where is the community?
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I think the Python community is broken. I think we don't really "have"
a community. It's more like a handful of negitive people at the top
and every one else is chopped liver.

Just today i saw another chance to contribute code to Python's stdlib,
but then that nagging feeling of "Whats the use, these people are just
going to discredit you and never accept code from you just because
they hate you". Sadly though the only damage is done to Python.

For those who are not aware my very first post to c.l.p (and Usenet)
was about 1.5 years ago. At that time i saw a void that Python could
fill nicely as a simple scripting language for an very quickly
advancing 3D modeling application (Google SketchUp). (You can search
the archives for a thread called..."Help, Google SketchUp needs a
Python API" if you are interested.)

So i my first thought was to find out if anyone was interested in
starting this project up. So i posted my ideas and to my complete and
utter surprise i was lynched by the Python community as a heretic...."
How dare you ask other people to help do what you should be doing
yourself "... well that was the "Sunday school" version of the
responses i received. I was discredited and mobbed for no apparent
reason except that i had the balls to ask the question in the first
place. I was only looking to get feedback, but the endless hoards
insisted that "they" new my intentions better than *I*.

Why was the reaction so negative? Well i will admit some fault in the
fact that i trashed Ruby pretty bad. I felt everything i said was true
IMO then as is now (mostly). People should have a right to opinions.
However since i was such an "unknown" and you could say a "newbie",
was this reaction warranted? I think not, and it speaks volumes to the
negative attitudes within this community.

This brings me to a new question. How many really exceptional Python
programmers have been left out OR pushed out because of the extreme
narcissism of the "core" python group. And when i say "core" i am
speaking of the handful of people who hang out here discrediting and
mobbing anybody they see as a threat to their superiority. They clutch
to power like a hated dictator because that is all they have left.

You people need to get a life, drop your narcissistic attitudes and be
more helpful, friendly, and welcoming to the wider world. This
community is not a community, its a "Cosa Nostra". Your predator like
behaviors are bleeding the spirit of Python's community. This
community does not belong to you or me or even GvR, we all share an
equal piece. And no matter how much, or little, each of use
contribute, we all share an equally divided peice.

I have spoken with "other" Python programmers (far more advanced than
myself) who echo this sentiment. However unlike me they cannot afford
to sacrifice their image to this group, EVEN if the group is at fault!
However this behavior is causing Python to suffer from lack of diverse
developers, and shrinks the pool of those who wish to participate.

But i'll tell you one thing, you will never bleed me dry because i am
stronger than all! I will be a thorn in your sides every time you pick
on a newbie. I will point out every negative comment you make, it will
not be hidden as you like. Whether i am accepted or assassinated i
will create an irreversible butterfly affect that no organization of
negativity can endure. I will bring some positive attitudes to this
group if it's the last thing i do! That will be my contribution to
this group, and it may just save the Python community as a whole!