The Dark Underbelly of Community
By Allen Holub
September 1, 2004 —
(Page 1 of 3)
When most people think of community, they think of an idealized small town, full of supportive people sharing common values, working together toward common goals. But there are other sorts of communities as well. Dark slums, where a stranger is more likely to cut your throat than give you directions. The general consensus amongst almost everybody that I talk too is that the Java community-at least that part of it that's evident online-is more like turn-of-the-century Calcutta than Anytown, USA.
Since everyone can get huge value out of online forums, it's a pity that the name-calling and general abuse that seems to be the norm nowadays makes it hard to participate.
It's bad enough that the beginners are berated for asking beginner questions. The worst part, though, is the way that knowledgeable programmers who point out the shortcomings of badly done programs or tools are flamed. I've been burnt often enough that I'm reluctant to participate in public forums, and many of the Java luminaries that I know feel the same way.
Interestingly, this mean-spirited behavior seems particularly prevalent in the Java community. Friends of mine in the Python world claim that it's a much nicer place. People are honestly helpful and try to do good work. The Java community used to be like that, but isn't anymore.
Clearly this situation doesn't benefit anyone, but how do you fix things? Here's my advice:
Robert Axelrod's spectacular book "The Evolution of Cooperation" and its sequel, "The Complexity of Cooperation," put the issue of encouraging cooperative interaction into an interesting perspective. Using the classic "prisoner's dilemma," Axelrod creates a mathematical model of cooperation that applies in spades to the real world.
The prisoner's dilemma works as follows: Two prisoners are given the choice to testify against on each other by a district attorney as part of a plea agreement. If neither one "defects," only a lesser charge can be brought (a reward of 1, perhaps just a misdemeanor conviction). If one confesses and testifies against the other, the payback is huge for the defector (a reward of 3, perhaps a simple six-month probation), and the other gets no payback (a reward of 0, meaning 20 years of hard time). If both defect, then the confessions aren't worth much (a reward of 2, meaning both serve a little time).
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