Let me add my two cents here. I believe that the engineering culture in FOSS should strive to stay above political, religious, national, and other divisions.
I am a citizen of the Russian Federation and currently live there. However, I believe that my personal views, whatever they may be, should not influence my work in FOSS or make anyone uncomfortable - neither fellow engineers nor ordinary end users. I contribute to several FOSS projects, and my involvement doesn't reflect my personal stance on any particular issue. I've communicated with other contributors in project discussions and private correspondence, just as they have with me, despite our obvious differences. And throughout all this time, none of them, by word or deed, ever put me in an uncomfortable position. In my view, this is precisely how professional interaction should work: we focus on the code, the problems, and the goals of our projects - and nothing else. Returning to the topic of protestware: xsnow is not the first, and unfortunately not the last, time that developers take advantage of their audience simply because they failed the "test of fame". It's something we've seen before, and it's worth addressing without turning it into a personal attack. I don't know for certain, but the "test of fame" does seem genuinely difficult. In this case, I believe the developer deserves a way to correct the situation gracefully and in a dignified manner - in plain English, to remove the protestware elements from the software. This isn't about policing or patronizing; it's about helping someone save face when they've made a mistake, while keeping the project itself clean and focused on its original purpose. Ultimately, these conflicts will eventually be resolved one way or another, but the way we treat each other during them leaves a lasting impression. -- SY, Konstantin Demin
