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Comment by cookiecaper | Hacker News Reader

I disagree. I think that free software has more of these issues because it's done on a volunteer basis.

The commitment and interdependence of the employment relationship smooths over most disagreements at work. People may not like it, but they stay aboard because, well, what are they going to do, leave? And what's the company going to do, fire them?

No such arrangement exists in voluntary efforts. People will work together fine as long as they all agree on most things. Once a real conflict emerges, without the underlying commitment and interdependence, people just decide it's not worth the frustration and walk away.

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> in voluntary efforts ... people just decide it's not worth the frustration and walk away

You make it sounds like it's a bad thing. Being able to focus your energies on healthy communities in a feature.

> employment [...] smooths over most disagreements at work

No. It just hides them. Backstabbing is popular, so it is disenchantment and cynicism. People biases turn into harsh peer performance feedback, refusal to hire and poor cooperation. Sociopaths get promoted.

> You make it sounds like it's a bad thing. Being able to focus your energies on healthy communities in a feature.

No, it's definitely a bug.

Walking away from personal conflicts weakens projects and communities through fragmentation. It feeds the selfish desire for safety and isolation at the expense of developing the more healthy ability to put aside personal differences in pursuit of a greater goal.

As a result, these so-called "healthy communities" will eventually end up more fragile and more fragmented than their original counterparts, especially since personal conflicts are inevitable in any project. What a fine way to derail a movement.

> No. It just hides them...

This is only true for toxic workplaces, but most workplaces are not toxic. There are many tech companies (large and small) that are pro-active about creating a good environment.

Yes, there's something about the workplace that creates the sort of bonds that make you think twice before doing or saying something stupid.

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