The strength of your community is the best predictor of your project’s long-term viability. What happens when that community is gradually infiltrated by assholes, who infect everyone else with their constant negativity and personal attacks? Although someone may be a valuable technical contributor, that person will never contribute as much to the project as the many others who are scared away and demotivated.
This talk will teach you about the dramatic impact assholes are having on your organization today and will show you how you can begin to repair it.
9. Assholes who look noble on the
surface
● Cookie licking
● Manipulative behaviors for “community good”
● Backchannelers
10. What is an asshole? Two tests
1. After talking to the asshole, does the target feel
oppressed, humiliated, de-energized, or
belittled?
2. Does the asshole target those less powerful?
19. Problems assholes cause to targets
● 48% decreased their effort
● 47% worked less time
● 38% dropped their quality
● 66% declined in performance
● 80% lost time worrying
● 63% lost time avoiding
● 78% became less committed
● 25% quit; 20% of witnesses quit!
Sutton
21. Problems assholes cause to projects
● Reduced innovation & creativity
● Reduced cooperation & cohesion
● Cost of targets' retribution toward project
● Impaired cooperation from external projects &
people
● Impaired ability to attract
the best & brightest
● Recruiting more assholes
Sutton
22. TCA: Total Cost of Asshole
Team lead
+ Developer relations team
+ Project leadership
+ Recruiting & training new developers
+ Targets & witnesses
__________________
Total Cost of Asshole
Sutton