Elco Dolstra, the creator of the Nix package manager, has announced his decision to step down as the head of the managing council of the NixOS Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the infrastructure and legal matters of the NIXOS project. This decision comes after the publication of an open letter that criticized Dolstra’s actions and raised concerns about the future of NIX and NIXOS. The letter, initially posted anonymously, garnered 160 signatures from supporters.
The open letter highlighted a leadership crisis within the NixOS Foundation, accusing the current leadership of failing to address community issues effectively, leading to unresolved problems over several years. The letter specifically called out the leadership’s inability to establish and uphold community values, as well as its failure to hold members accountable for inappropriate behavior. It also criticized the foundation for fostering a toxic culture that remains unaddressed.
The authors of the letter attribute the toxic culture within the project to Elco Dolstra’s leadership style, which they claim undermines the authority of others, dismisses delegation of power, ignores community concerns, and supports conflicts of interest. The letter warned that the project is at a critical juncture where continued inaction could result in a loss of trust, withdrawal of corporate support, the departure of active community members, and the disbandment of the moderation team. Signatories of the letter expressed their willingness to support a fork of the project if Dolstra does not resign from his position.