An open letter to the PSF CoC WG, addendum 1/n

The Suspension of Tim Peters

Thanks to everyone who contacted me with praise, thanks etc. for my previous post, or shared the link. I'm truly grateful for all such support.

If you haven't seen that post yet, please take a moment to read it first. It gives important context (such as explanations of acronyms), which I will not be repeating here.

On August 7, Python core developer Tim Peters was issued a 3-month (although it ended November 1, perhaps due to a clerical error) suspension from that role, accompanied by a suspension from the official Python Discourse forum. This was connected to my own (permanent) ban from that forum (issued July 19), a fact which other sources have largely ignored.

In this post, I describe key events between those two dates, tell my story, and respond to the charges laid against Mr. Peters (spoiler: I find them ludicrous).

An open letter to the PSF CoC WG

On July 19th, I was banned ("indefinitely suspended") from the official Python Discourse forum, and several of my most recent posts were "temporarily" hidden by flagging "by the community" (per the stock phrasing of the Discourse software). I was already voluntarily about to leave, so I don't particularly mind losing access - but it was nevertheless unjust.

Furthermore, the manner in which this was handled shocks and appalls me. In my estimation, the WG has acted with astounding hypocrisy, which I will allude to in this post and attempt to elucidate in later posts. In announcing my ban, they made a parting statement which misrepresents my position in egregious and indefensible ways. Further, it is my considered opinion that these actions reflect a "social justice" ideology which is neither just nor eusocial - one which I believe is fundamentally corrupt and enables serious real-world harm.