Thread · HN Continuity

Gatekeeping is a good thing. It's how communities stay healthy and vibrant. Gatekeeping means that when someone shows up to your birdwatching club and says "I hate going outdoors, can we just look at photos of birds from the Internet?", you politely but firmly say "sorry, this isn't the club for you". If you don't do this, then soon enough your club won't be about birdwatching at all, but will be about looking at pictures on the Internet. Same goes for any other community or subculture: it is perfectly okay to say "we aren't changing our standards, and this activity may not be for you".

Of course gatekeeping can also be toxic. But anything can be toxic if applied too much. You can die from water poisoning, that doesn't mean water is bad. It means you need to not overdo it. I've seen what a lack of gatekeeping has done to many communities I used to enjoy (including programming), and I think it's high time we did more gatekeeping. We don't want to overdo it, but right now we are doing far too little and that needs to change.