Is this helpful for attracting new people to Perl and to this site?
No. How could it be? No one, but no one, reads something like that before participating.
You cannot force others to act in the way you choose. Some of the most helpful monks and some of the biggest contributors in the Perl-world are what I would call uncivil. Because one uses harsh language or is intolerant does not make one’s contributions meaningless or unwanted. I say this not as a contributor who is prone to dish abuse but as an ordinary participant who has received same; both here and in the Perlsphere. Are we hackers or children? Is this the real, professional world or is it gradeschool?
FOSS is more than free software. It’s an ethos that is either “full stack” or is hollow. Linus Torvalds is a notorious asshole but he can only be regarded—in my view—as a saint. Warm feelings do not make software run. Politically correct social behavior cops cannot change bad behavior. A promise of this kind of safety is a lie. All lies are a waste of time. Good intentions do not make a waste of time acceptable.
(Update: missing “not” added. DERP.)
