The circus freaks of open source

Drew DeVault · 5 Jun 2026

Drew DeVault did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
A community member who is abrasive, breaks the rules and does not improve after feedback and repeated moderation should be removed from the community

Their wordsSomeone who is abrasive and toxic, refuses to play by the rules or work well with others, and does not improve when given feedback and being subjected to repeated moderator interventions, should be removed from the community.
Our reading
People struggling with their mental health are best given compassion and privacy

Their wordsWhen our peers are struggling with their mental health, the best thing to afford them is compassion and privacy.

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The other pieces are the ones whose claims are worded most like this one's. That measures language, not agreement: they may argue the opposite.