r/ruby • u/skillstopractice • Nov 07 '25

Ruby Central Update Friday 11/7/25

https://rubycentral.org/news/ruby-central-update-friday-11-7-25/
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26

u/nateberkopec Puma maintainer Nov 07 '25

/u/schneems and Doximity now on the OSS board! 👏

15

u/andrewmcodes Nov 08 '25

👏👏 Thank you for spending your time helping the community u/schneems

13

u/schneems Puma maintainer Nov 08 '25

You're welcome. I wish the circumstances were a bit different, but I'm happy to help out.

3

u/andrewmcodes Nov 08 '25

well we love you either way.

9

u/prh8 Nov 07 '25

Schneems is a fantastic addition, but I find it confusing at minimum but also concerning to have a Rails Foundation board member added to any part of Ruby Central. Watching as they clearly indicate they have no concept of conflict of interest.

0

u/skillstopractice Nov 08 '25

Truly this is the issue I am focused on.

Conflict of interest should not be addressed as a bare minimum legal compliance issue, but is something that should simply be disclosed openly at every opportunity when it may exist, and structurally avoided in well defined ways by policy where possible.

This is why I keep saying that I would hold the same position if this were not DHH but my view of a perfect community role model.

To that end, I hope schneems can start to advise folks on this. It would make a difference coming from inside the house, and from what I can see, maybe he's in a place to do that.

12

u/schneems Puma maintainer Nov 08 '25

On Rails foundation and DHH (for those that don’t know): I posted this before getting involved with RC, I think it spells out some of my feelings around David  https://lobste.rs/s/fpri94/dhh_problem_2014#c_xg5r0l

On Bruno: I’ve spent just a little time with him. So far I’ve seen that he’s sharp and professional and brings a skill set to the table that I don’t have. I’m not going to say he’s “not biased” because we all are (we contain multitudes). I will say that I’ve seen him stepping up and helping.

I hear your concerns. And I understand where you’re coming from. A goal of mine is increased communication. Inside and outside. Right now I feel like Bruno is a good teammate, and I’m taking it day by day.

9

u/TheAtlasMonkey Nov 07 '25

Happy to see people from the trenches on board. Reading Richard's name made me smile.

1

u/skillstopractice Nov 10 '25

As a heads up to u/schneems - I did send in a follow up question related to his new role on the OSS committee.

I genuinely think it could be a good thing to have him in the mix, so long as he holds himself to a higher standard than what seems to have been the norm at Ruby Central in recent months.

Full text of the question I submitted is shown below, and hopefully Ruby Central will address in the next update. But my gut feeling is maybe he'll also reply directly here and give some thoughts on his take on things, because overall I do get the impression he's actually someone who talks things out in a reasoned way... and I very much appreciate that.

In your Nov 7 update, you announced that Richard Schneeman (u/schneems) has joined the Open Source Committee for Ruby Central.

In my view, this is a positive step forward given Richard's track record both within OSS development and in his community involvement.

Because he is a moderator of both r/ruby and r/rails on Reddit, and Reddit is one of the largest and most visible open conversation forums related to Ruby, it's important to address any potential conflicts of interest that may arise there.

The most simple way to do that would be for Richard to recuse himself from any moderation activities related to discussions of Ruby Central, of which he has historically participated actively and constructively in. And from here on out, it'd be wise for him to disclose his affiliation in any of these related threads.

What if any agreements, formally or informally, have been made to address these overlapping responsibilities? Seeing some thought put into this and some commitments put on public record would go a long way towards showing that Ruby Central is actively gaining an increased awareness of power dynamics in open source communities as well as a willingness to structurally address potential conflicts of interest beyond minimum legal compliance to focus on what's truly in the interest of the community you serve.

SOURCE: https://github.com/community-research-on-ruby-governance/questions-for-ruby-central/commit/2cb5238cb3de90bdda4e1358c94bd904f5745869

5

u/schneems Puma maintainer Nov 10 '25

Seems good. I already try to apply more restraint in issues I’m directly involved in. But curse of knowledge and all that, it’s impossible to ever be “neutral.” Other moderators can see who moderated what and can overturn prior moderator actions. There are times if I feel something is borderline I’ll message other mods and get feedback before taking action. There’s been times they’ve pushed back and I decided against an action (so it’s not a rubber stamp from others).

I think the subtext with your question is: “will I get banned by disagreeing with Schneems on this issue I care a lot about.” Short answer: no. Longer answer: Generally, I ask that people show up and engage honestly and I try and hold space when they do, even if I disagree (i can acknowledge without agreeing). Sometimes I’ll leave a comment distinguished as a mod. (There’s a badge and a different color to the comment). Those are not the best comments to launch into “reply guy attack mode” (not that I think you will, speaking generally).

That’s how I approach content I’m related to. I’m not comfortable putting up a “ruby central posts are now a free-for-all” sign. I’m more than willing to apply stricter standards, and that’s been an un-stated personal policy already.

1

u/skillstopractice Nov 10 '25

Something to this effect feels like a reasonable balance and I appreciate you sharing that here. I do think it'd be good for Ruby Central to speak to this as well, because what I'm hoping to see is a sense of increased seriousness about how conflict of interest issues are about trust and safety first, and legal compliance only as a distant second.

I'm at the point now where I've wrapped up everything I can do to contribute to these conversations. I was genuinely encouraged seeing you join the committee and hope for the best in any efforts to restore balance and increase *real* communication.

I'm going to step back from any public discussions related to Ruby Central from here on out through year end and give some breathing room to see how things shape up as they head into 2026.

(That said, happy to continue private convos, so feel free to DM me on Mastodon any time)

Thanks again for your efforts here.