The Authoritarianism of Code: Why Open Source Communities Exploit You

Zed A. Shaw argues that authoritarianism is deeply embedded in software development, especially in open source communities. He defines authoritarianism as any deference to authority given or taken without enthusiastic informed consent, and distinguishes it from fascism. Shaw provides a framework to evaluate projects and communities, using the Python community's handling of a 2012 sexual harassment incident as a prime example of deference to authority. His goal is to help developers make informed decisions about where they invest their time, avoiding exploitation by authoritarian leaders and communities.