Keeping KDE Apolitical

Mon Nov 3 07:39:04 GMT 2025

2025 bingo:
$something should be apolitical
(insert here your favorite topic.: artists, art, movies, music, political
parties, software)

again with this nonsense?

On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 at 08:28 Richard Troy <rtroy at sciencetools.com> wrote:

>
> On Sun, 2 Nov 2025, Margaret Miller wrote:
>
> > Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2025 23:56:26 +0100 (CET)
> > From: Margaret Miller <mmiller at wanderingwires.net>
> > To: Richard Troy <rtroy at sciencetools.com>
> > Cc: Anonymous Viewer <anonymous.viewer at mailfence.com>,
> >     Kde Community <kde-community at kde.org>
> > Subject: Re: Keeping KDE Apolitical
> >
> > Even still, I don't agree that being "apolitical" in your definition is
> > a unquestionable goodm I would like to ask *you* to question why you
> > think being "apolitical" is a good thing.
>
> Simple, Margaret: time and place.
>
> FWIW, I'm fully prepared to bring on the full-emphasis of my political
> views when and where the time and location are appropriate - namely, where
> they might do some good. I don't see KDE as a place for a political
> discussion at this time. If there's something going on that calls for it,
> well... do share!
>
> Regards,
> Richard
>
> > --
> > Margaret "Mae" Miller (she/her)
> >
> >
> >
> > Nov 2, 2025, 14:52 by rtroy at ScienceTools.com:
> >
> >>
> >> On Sun, 2 Nov 2025, Margaret Miller wrote:
> >>
> >>>
> >>> No. I love KDE precisely because they're not falling for this
> "apolitical" nonsense that only ever is used to benefit the far right and
> push out marginalized people.
> >>>
> >>
> >> Hmmm...
> >>
> >> With respect, I'd like to ask you to adjust how you assert stuff like
> that.
> >>
> >> You're not wrong, Margaret, in stating that there are many instances in
> modern times, especially in the USA and parts of Western Europe (perhaps
> elsewhere) that very partisan and political things are done in the name of
> being "apolitical." However, someone else's improper use of our common
> language shouldn't be a reason for us to redefine words and twist things.
> That is, how you phrased your defense of the marginalized was itself
> falling into a linguistic trap. I agree with "Slopsec" we all stay out of
> it.
> >>
> >> I believe "Slopsec's" articulation was the more accurate: We can and
> should defend being apolitical in KDE and avoid it in ourselves when
> dealing with unrelated subjects. And let us not try and redefine the word
> apolitical or buy into other people's false definitions. Slopsec asked we
> keep politics out of this venue and I agree, and defending those who need
> defending as you propose isn't, in my view, political.
> >>
> >> Word-hijacking has long been, unfortunately, "a thing" in humanity and
> it's both insidious and corrosive and is intended, most times, to either
> divide, or convince one of false narratives. A simple but obvious example
> would be the likes of Nancy Pelosi (among many others) who try and call
> themselves "left" just because they're not where current Republicans are,
> when anyone of my generation would call them out as 1980's style
> Republicans. It's an attempt to redefine the word for their own political
> purposes and I say we not buy into it. Apolitical means NOT political. And
> defending against bullying as you propose isn't a political act, it's an
> act born of good morals.
> >>
> >> In any event, ABSOLUTELY, Margaret, DEFEND those who need defending,
> like the marginalized. Lets just try and not talk past one another, please.
> >>
> >> I hope I haven't just whacked a hornet's nest!
> >>
> >> Regards,
> >> Richard
> >>
> >> P.S. You can read MY basic political affiliations in my signature line
> as it articulates the who and what _I_ pledge allegiance to.  RT
> >>
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> Margaret "Mae" Miller (she/her)
> >>>
> >>> Nov 2, 2025, 14:09 by anonymous.viewer at mailfence.com:
> >>>
> >>>> Hello everyone,
> >>>>
> >>>> Something concerning that was brought to my attention compelled me to
> compose my thoughts. For the sake of maintaining a healthy community with a
> diverse array of people from different backgrounds, I would like to implore
> that you please keep KDE Plasma apolitical. It should not be used as a
> platform for character assassination or the badjacketing of people and
> organisations for political views which may differ from your own. There
> could be about half a dozen of reasons why KDE Plasma may have wished to
> abstain from interacting on X/Twitter and each of them likely to be valid
> from a purely technical or utilitarian prospective. Instead, an employee of
> KDE Plasma for promotion and communication asserted their own politics and
> spoke on behalf of KDE Plasma as a whole in a statement when addressing why
> KDE Plasma has stopped posting to X.
> >>>>
> >>>> I don't think this is something that should be tolerated in our
> community, as the politicisation of projects and hobbies only serves to sow
> division which leads to ostracism and exclusion rather than inclusion.
> Hobbies should be politically neutral as to remain inclusive for all people
> from different walks of life. The founding ethos of the free and open
> source community ensured that nobody was excluded or marginalised for their
> immutable traits or beliefs as they did not matter or would've otherwise
> impacted a person's ability to participate. These very founding principles
> are being threatened by those who that assert their politics into the
> hobbies and projects where it has no business being. The free and open
> source movement is political in nature, yes. However, there should be
> absolutely no room for identity politics and culture wars which distract
> from the very purpose of our hobby. Creating, maintaining and iterating on
> software and public infrastructure that anyone may fr
>  ee
> >>>>
> >> ly use for the betterment of humanity.
> >>
> >>>>
> >>>> I've left my thoughts here in good faith as a user of KDE Plasma and
> welcome any discussion or feedback.
> >>>>
> >>>> Thank you all for your time and cheers for reading.
> >>>>
> >>>> —Slopsec
> >>>>
> >>>> --
> >>>> Sent with https://mailfence.com
> >>>> Secure and private email
> >>>>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Richard Troy, Chief Scientist
> >> Science Tools Corporation
> >> 510-717-6942
> >> rtroy at ScienceTools.com, http://ScienceTools.com/
> >>
> >> I pledge allegiance to We, The People, to mutual peace and harmony, and
> >> to the natural Earth and biosphere upon which We, The People, depend.
> >>
> >
>
> --
> Richard Troy, Chief Scientist
> Science Tools Corporation
> 510-717-6942
> rtroy at ScienceTools.com, http://ScienceTools.com/
>
> I pledge allegiance to We, The People, to mutual peace and harmony, and
> to the natural Earth and biosphere upon which We, The People, depend.
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