I've previously mentioned how well the Derby core team functions together, despite disparities in gender, nationality, native languages, and probably many other things besides. The same largely holds true for the user community. So, earlier this week, it was distressing to find someone trashing someone else's code (in four-letter terms), then--after being (politely) called on the carpet for his language and tone--responding with self-righteousness and the smug assertion that he had somehow "helped" the person whose code he'd insulted. (For the record, it wasn't my code--I don't have any skin in the game.)
Last I checked, the only place it's "acceptable" to ridicule a person in the name of making them a productive team member is the military. Anyone trying to do that in a civilian context? Well, Mom would say that I should feel sorry for them, but I can't. I've seen the disruption that a single person can cause within an organization, and it's pretty scary. You can remove that person, and the group will actually be more productive despite the decrease in headcount. Even scarier is the fact that the anonymity of the internet isn't even a factor in these cases. As a matter of fact, I don't even want to think about what these folks are like online.
In the case of the user list, I haven't seen the offender's name pop up in the last couple of days, so I'm hoping that this means that he's taken his toys and gone home. Or that the list moderators have less tolerance than even I would have (which isn't much). Partly because wanting to smack someone for their obnoxiousness really makes it difficult for me to learn. But more importantly, because the Derby folks are so gifted on a number of levels, and their time is best put to use fixing bugs and getting the next version out the door.
