Liz is one of the most genuine and thoughtful people I ever worked with. The software world would be a better place if more people like her were running the show. Best of luck to her.
Precise info about the PHP foundation is hard to find. They have an annual budget of ≈500k USD, half of it assigned to developers[^1]. From a 2024 presentation video, they claim that the foundation has a "language impact" of 43% on the PHP core, with 57% for "other developers" ; but the graph does not state the metric used[^2].
But I could not find an answer to the most obvious questions:
What did they do last year? There is no annual public report of their activity.
Do they pay developers to work on whatever they want on the PHP core? Or does the foundation have an internal roadmap and assign tasks to developers?
Sometimes, but not necessarily.
It depends on the competence of the DEI "figurehead".
Some communities had a figurehead installed by committee who provoked negative reactions due to bad decisions. Sometimes the leadership arose naturally or just turned out very competent.
And frequently, the trans or gay or whoever is called incompetent and DEI regardless of "naturally" they rose and how good decisions they make. Their decisions arw bad faith twisted for ideological reasons.
And no one even worry about someone not rising naturally when he is not demographic, regardless of level of nepotism and good old boys network that got him in.
Then there's the rich irony of the supremely unqualified transphobic belligerent alcoholic anti-DEI social injustice warrior accelerationist christian nationalist DUI hire Pete Hegseth running the Department of War into the ground and the War on Iran into WWIII Armageddon.
U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for “Armageddon,” Return of Jesus:
>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has enshrined evangelical Christianity at the uppermost levels of the U.S. military, airing monthly prayer meetings throughout the Pentagon. Last year, the Pentagon confirmed to me that Hegseth attends a weekly White House Bible study. It’s led by a preacher who says God commands America to support Israel.
Don't you have more important things to worry about than baselessly disparaging competent trans women in technical leadership positions as "DEI hires"? Where is your proof she's incompetent, or a "DEI figurehead", and that you're competent enough to judge her? What have you done for the PHP community? Did she take your jerb?
If you're not transphobic, then stop spreading and defending transphobic propaganda. If you are transphobic, just come out and say it, and try to make your case based on the facts and science, with evidence instead of baseless claims and lies and accusations.
If you think I'm wrong, then where is your proof she's incompetent, or a "DEI figurehead", and that you're competent enough to judge her? Or is your point that DUI Hire Pete Hegseth is qualified for his job and doing it well?
You and others (showdead=true to see since many have been flagged) are suggesting she’s incompetent or a DEI figurehead or not a real woman. So what specific evidence or decisions or contributions are you using to judge that?
Also, what do Brianna Wu’s opinions about trans issues or sports have to do with the PHP Foundation leadership discussed in the article? You brought her up, so explain.
There are so many generalities and so much hand-waving in your comment that it's really hard for me to understand what situations or which people you're referring to. It would be much improved with some specifics.
Unpopular opinion, but so true. I find it sad that at least 50% of the time when I see a female name in tech circles, and am already happy for a positive example of more women in IT, I realize it is a trans person.
For me the number has been closer to 80% (my interestes/categories have been, foss, software dev, high tech specialization / academic work).
This is not surprising because I remember looking at the stats, females accounted for 2% of open source developers. And it was 7% female software devs (non-oss included, work etc). These stats are a few years old. I wonder if we can still find stats about cis-women in FOSS. Have the stats increased? Or is it too much of political hot potato to gather such stats?
How many males are naturally fascinated with computers? I know I was. Therefore it makes sense that if we see a female name, it is not just possible but likely that, that person is trans. Nowadays when I see a female name, I don't make the same happy assumptions I used to. That said, I welcome anybody interested in computers with open arms.
But I could not find an answer to the most obvious questions:
What did they do last year? There is no annual public report of their activity.
Do they pay developers to work on whatever they want on the PHP core? Or does the foundation have an internal roadmap and assign tasks to developers?
[^1]: https://opencollective.com/phpfoundation#category-BUDGET
[^2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE4g1Tl6RQw at 06:45
https://thephp.foundation/blog/2025/12/02/can-we-count-on-yo...
Some communities had a figurehead installed by committee who provoked negative reactions due to bad decisions. Sometimes the leadership arose naturally or just turned out very competent.
And no one even worry about someone not rising naturally when he is not demographic, regardless of level of nepotism and good old boys network that got him in.
U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for “Armageddon,” Return of Jesus:
https://jonathanlarsen.substack.com/p/us-troops-were-told-ir...
>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has enshrined evangelical Christianity at the uppermost levels of the U.S. military, airing monthly prayer meetings throughout the Pentagon. Last year, the Pentagon confirmed to me that Hegseth attends a weekly White House Bible study. It’s led by a preacher who says God commands America to support Israel.
Don't you have more important things to worry about than baselessly disparaging competent trans women in technical leadership positions as "DEI hires"? Where is your proof she's incompetent, or a "DEI figurehead", and that you're competent enough to judge her? What have you done for the PHP community? Did she take your jerb?
If you're not transphobic, then stop spreading and defending transphobic propaganda. If you are transphobic, just come out and say it, and try to make your case based on the facts and science, with evidence instead of baseless claims and lies and accusations.
Just because you’re offended, doesn’t mean you’re right.
You and others (showdead=true to see since many have been flagged) are suggesting she’s incompetent or a DEI figurehead or not a real woman. So what specific evidence or decisions or contributions are you using to judge that?
Also, what do Brianna Wu’s opinions about trans issues or sports have to do with the PHP Foundation leadership discussed in the article? You brought her up, so explain.
This is not surprising because I remember looking at the stats, females accounted for 2% of open source developers. And it was 7% female software devs (non-oss included, work etc). These stats are a few years old. I wonder if we can still find stats about cis-women in FOSS. Have the stats increased? Or is it too much of political hot potato to gather such stats?
How many males are naturally fascinated with computers? I know I was. Therefore it makes sense that if we see a female name, it is not just possible but likely that, that person is trans. Nowadays when I see a female name, I don't make the same happy assumptions I used to. That said, I welcome anybody interested in computers with open arms.