Call for Open Discussion on Pull Requests: Balancing Safety and Transparency

[EFHDev]

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Introduction

Yesterday and today, a concerning pull request landed in a project I deeply care about. The PR proposed a drastic license change, seemingly disregarding the rights of contributors, forkers, and anyone who downloaded/modified the work under the existing NCSA license. To make matters worse, when I attempted to raise my voice and defend those rights, I discovered I was blocked by the PR creator, essentially silencing my opinion.

The Issue

This incident highlights a significant problem with the current blocking system. While blocking can be useful in some situations, it has the potential to create serious issues:

• Echo Chambers: Blocking can silence dissenting voices, leading to the merging of potentially unlawful, unhelpful, or even illegal code changes. This can be particularly harmful if targeted at specific individuals within an organization.
• Stifled Debate: Blocking can hinder healthy debate, preventing the identification of critical issues and ultimately harming the project.

Limitations of Current blocking System

The current limitations on commenting can be counterproductive. Restricting comments based on blocked status hinders open collaboration and discussion, which is not aligned with GitHub's vision for fostering a collaborative environment.

Proposed Solution

I propose a solution that addresses these concerns:

• Open Comments for All Users: Allow comments on PRs from all users, regardless of blocked status to the PR owner.
• Blocking for Content Control: Maintain blocking functionality, but limit it to hiding content and notifications from the blocked user. This still allows them to participate in the discussion.

Alignment with GitHub's Mission

This approach aligns perfectly with GitHub's mission by promoting:

• Increased Transparency: Open comments from registered users ensure a more transparent discussion, allowing the community to stay informed and identify issues early.
• Empowered Diverse Voices: Everyone with a stake in the project can have a say, enriching the discussion with a wider range of perspectives.
• Healthy Debate: Open comments encourage constructive debate, even on sensitive topics, leading to better decision-making and a stronger project overall.

This proposed change fosters a more inclusive and collaborative environment on GitHub, reflecting the platform's core values. It balances the need for a safe space with the importance of open communication, allowing users to manage interactions while ensuring everyone has a voice.

Please let me know friends, what your opinion is on this. This is a issue i hold dearly, and really hope we can get some progress done here to better align with GitHub's vision.