SQLite Code of Ethics (2020)
sqlite.orgBig discussion from 3 months prior.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31886687
SQLite is like wine produced by a monastery. You don't have to follow their virtues to buy their wine.
On the flip side we might hypothetically ask whether we can have "software monasteries" which ban Muslims or gay people, because that is the prerogative which American Christian organizations currently hold over their employees and members.
"Nobody is excluded from the SQLite community due to biological category or religious creed".
> The founder of SQLite and all current developers have pledged to follow the spirit of The Rule to the best of their ability.
Yes, to use the license you are not required to follow the creed. It's different to say what that means for those who are inside the monastery, where everyone has sworn themselves to this creed.
Has there ever been one exception?
No, Hipp seems to have been more explicit than this, saying that nobody had been ejected from participating in the community in any capacity for those reasons. Also: the Code of Ethics doesn't have anything to do with the license to begin with.
SQLite is really not at all like a monastery.
Ah then SQLite is far more secular and progressive than I had thought. I would still ask: has there ever been a single exception to SQLite's developer makeup?
I am not sure how
> The founder of SQLite and all current developers have pledged to follow the spirit of The Rule to the best of their ability. They view The Rule as their promise to all SQLite users of how the developers are expected to behave. This is a one-way promise, or covenant. In other words, the developers are saying: "We will treat you this way regardless of how you treat us."
...would continue to stand if there were an exception. That is what makes me suspicious as to how welcoming the SQLite team would be to those who do not make the same pledge. That covenant as it stands would be broken.
I would be similarly suspicious of a company where the CEO and all members pledged themselves to a religious faith with a written statement on their unanimous covenant. The claim that there has never been any religious exclusion combined with the lack of a single exception in their history would raise suspicion in me.
100x this
the rule excludes me from participating in development -- i.e., I refuse to dread Hell, or let that dread dictate my actions. I can treat others well without the threat of eternal damnation. The dread of hell only detracts from my life.
The Rule also precludes any non-christian contributors.
Charlemagne's world was much smaller and simpler than ours. It's ok to give the list a refresh.
According to Hipp, the rule does no such thing.
And do we know if there has ever been a single exception to this rule in practice? The CoC as written is a religious covenant between all current developers and its users.
Again, if we explore the hypothetical of the same scenario but with another company, do you truly find no suspicion over the actual reality of religious inclusion if it appears there isn't a single exception to their unanimous religious pledge?
Maybe I'm just confused over the wording and there are current exceptions, and perhaps you might have some off the top of your head already.
It's right there in the plain language of the SQLite page, in addition to Hipp himself confirming it in an interview. I think you have to want this to be sinister to read it that way.
About the grumpiest you can reasonably get about this is that Hipp is making a statement about codes of conduct.
Personally, I'm not grumpy about anything. Disappointed, perhaps, at worst, because it's grounded in christianity.
I don't see what you're referring to regarding plain language -- would you be so kind as to provide the quote from the document?
The two sentences that lead me to believe that the document applies to all contributors are:
> The founder of SQLite and all current developers have pledged to follow the spirit of The Rule to the best of their ability.
> They view The Rule as their promise to all SQLite users of how the developers are expected to behave.
Granted, it only refers to current developers, but if they view it as a promise for "how the developers are expected to behave", that indicates to me that future contributors would be held to it as a standard.
Of which is their right -- it's their project and they can determine who they want contributions from just as much as any other project. But it lacking any statement to the contrary, it certainly seems like religious belief is one of the bases on which contributors are judged.
This page does not say that current developers of SQLite all adhere to Christian religious practice.
It really does read that way. But if you say that the ground reality is different then perhaps the CoC is just out of date. The CoC says all current developers make this pledge, and that this is a covenant between developers and users.
I didn't suggest anything about the developers religious practices. Would you be more clear on the point you're trying to make?
> “No one is required to follow The Rule, to know The Rule, or even to think that The Rule is a good idea. The Founder of SQLite believes that anyone who follows The Rule will live a happier and more productive life, but individuals are free to dispute or ignore that advice if they wish.”