Goyal makes a lot of people uncomfortable because he is obviously on the spectrum. Of course a lot of Free Software hobbyists are, and I wouldn’t dare to exclude myself from that. But there is certainly a feeling that it would be better for a project to use neurotypical volunteers for the public-facing aspects of development, like taking feature requests. It would save both Goyal and the people posting on the various forums a lot of rancor.
> Goyal makes a lot of people uncomfortable because he is obviously on the spectrum.
Never mind the first question that popped up in my head (Why would you care?), but _Why would that even occur to you?_ Why would you even look at people that way to begin with?
Assuming that Goyal is on the spectrum is the charitable thing to do. It allows one to excuse his brusqueness and defensiveness as simply something he was born with. That is the conclusion I gradually made over years of watching Calibre development and a conference appearance of his on YouTube. Many of his critics probably just think that he is a jerk and egomaniac who refuses to see things from others’ perspectives.
> Assuming that Goyal is on the spectrum is the charitable thing to do. It allows one to excuse his brusqueness and defensiveness as simply something he was born with.
