Keeping KDE Apolitical

Mon Nov 3 21:06:55 GMT 2025

Wanting free software is already a stance on how knowledge should be shared
and how collective work should be organized, all of which is very
political. Let's celebrate being political and let's fight for everything
we believe is just!

On Mon, Nov 3, 2025 at 8:39 AM Tomaz Canabrava <tcanabrava at kde.org> wrote:

> 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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