Re: [Ghm-discuss] The posh talk does not complain with the policy

[Jim Blandy]

(I'm going to assume that uninterested people have muted this thread, and add to it...)

It's essential to be able to temporarily set aside beliefs that are extremely important to you, and collaborate with others who disagree, to accomplish some goal whose importance you *do* agree on.

Breaking up collaborations by highlighting "wedge issues" that split the group down the middle over some strongly-held belief is an effective technique, put to use daily by politically sophisticated interest groups. I consider it playing dirty.

There's absolutely no advantage to tying Free software to any given political cause, no matter how just you or I believe it to be, if it would divide the group of people you can collaborate with on Free software.

In that vein, I think the original intent of the policy was to prevent ill-behaved people from preventing collaboration across gender lines. Both the policy, and the argument I offer here, are aimed at increasing collaboration on points of agreement.