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I could see it going either way, but come on, no one in their right mind would think that that's an appropriate joke to make in a public thread with members of a professional community.

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"No one in their right mind" - Again, maybe it's because I see a version of my younger self, but it seems oversensitive! Yes, I know we are now in a world where any joke in the workplace that bases itself on "protected class" is theoretically off-limits. But that switch has flipped rapidly, and on top of it, that joke was truly minor. If it was an aggression, it really puts the micro in microaggression. But to read the comments, you'd think he made a Holocaust joke on Passover.

It was foolish to make the joke, it was even more foolish to make it on a digital format that cannot be rescinded. It's also foolish for people to immediately call for this person's removal from the community in perpetuity, rather than have a chat and explain that those jokes aren't funny.

Yeah like I said, I could see it going either way. I think your response would be reasonable, and I would be on board with it. I've never been in charge of an open source community so it's hard to say exactly what I'd do, but you're right that typically these kinds of decisions persist in perpetuity. With that in mind I'd be more likely to have a conversation, so long as the person can demonstrate that they understand why those jokes can't be tolerated.

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