Thread by @jaicesd

I had to unfollow someone today from my #Kubernetes community.

In normal circumstances this wouldn't be notable because people follow/unfollow all the time. But, this is different. Very different.

When I originally envisioned the Kubernetes code of conduct in practice, I wrote 2 docs that go alongside the contributor covenant. One described how violations would be handled and the other defined the boundaries of the community in terms of enforcement.

In my draft, Twitter was explicitly in scope for cases where someone's words were threatening to other members of the community. I imagined someone posting Nazi hate speech and then being in a SIG meeting and as a non-binary Jew, I would not feel safe collaborating with them ever

Psychological safety is a big part of why Kubernetes is as successful as it is, and it's incredibly fragile to maintain. It only takes a small number, maybe even just one person, to unravel it. For unrepresented people, it's already stressful to trust. Then this happens.

It was almost the very thing I had panicked about when the community was growing so quickly. We established the code of conduct committee but there was never an explicit definition of where community started and stopped. It's a very slippery slope.

Now I'm very concerned for what this situation means to our community. People don't rage quit open source, they just stop showing up. There's no obvious signs of injury, just a silence where there used to be connection and camaraderie.

As someone who helped build and protect the #Kubernetes community, I can't just ignore the bold and callous intrusion of divisive, cruel, and inflammatory language from one our most trusted leaders. This isn't ok.

There's no recourse to be had. It's just me and probably others deciding to unfollow today. And tomorrow, we'll have to do our own calculus about safety and trust. I never wanted to feel this way about someone whom I've worked so closely with. It's heartbreaking.