<div class="header-image"></div> <table class="table-header"> <thead> <tr> <th colspan="2"></th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>2024-07-12</td> <td style="text-align: right;"><a href="About.md" class="internal-link">About</a></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> # Graphene Strikes Again  A few months ago I listened to a [podcast put out by Bryan Lunduke](https://lunduke.substack.com/p/chris-fisher-wendell-wilson-and-rob). I listened to it mainly because Chris Fisher was a guest and I was looking forward to hearing them together again, as I was a big fan of the Linux Action Show back in the day. Right off the bat they got into phone operating systems and what the guests would recommend. So I was immediately interested, because I was looking to replace my ageing Oneplus 6t, upon which I've installed eOS. Chris recommended GrapheneOS right away. But even in his glowing review, he mentioned developer drama, and Rob Braxman, another guest in the same episode, said he stopped using the OS because they all hated him. He didn't get into it too deeply, other than to say that they were mad that he didn't support the project. I'm usually pretty immune to drama, so long as I, personally, am not sucked into it. As I've [written about previously](2024-07-06%20Love%20the%20Art,%20not%20the%20Artist;%20Choose%20the%20Software,%20Not%20the%20Developer.md), I really only look at software quality rather than the disposition or political opinion of the developer, so I ignored the warnings about drama and started researching Graphene. And I found some really positive support for it. It's been said on many occasions that it's the most secure and privacy respecting phone OS out there. Even [Edward Snowden gave an endorsement](https://x.com/Snowden/status/1588472045960327168)! And after seeing how easy it is to install (it's really as easy as clicking "next" in a few prompts on a web interface), I started looking into Pixel phones, deciding which I should buy and how much I was willing to spend. It was during this research that I found this video by Louis Rossman:  *Louis Rossman explains "Why I deleted GrapheneOS"* In the video, Louis shows a Matrix chat window where he has a back and forth with Daniel Micay, the lead developer of Graphene. Let's just say that Daniel comes off as very unhinged, and throws around accusations of swatting and harassment, and suggests that Louis is contributing to this by commenting on a YouTube video. A YouTube video, mind you, that makes Micay look more than a bit unhinged because of baseless accusations about the CalyxOS devs.  *The Techlore video to which Rossman commented* Louis, from what I can tell, is very much like me, in that he is very forgiving of people and their idiosyncrasies, so long as their work justifies it. ([I've written a post about this subject before already](2024-07-06%20Love%20the%20Art,%20not%20the%20Artist;%20Choose%20the%20Software,%20Not%20the%20Developer.md), and I have more to say about it). In this case though, Louis made it very clear that he plans on stopping his use of Graphene. His reasoning is that, with the lead developer being so obviously mentally ill, he feels he can no longer trust the code. One thing I should mention here is that Daniel Micay is no longer the lead developer. He's stepped down *because* of all this drama, and I think he actually realised that it all looked bad in regard to the GrapheneOS project. So with that information, and the fact that I think he really is a genius-level programmer and truly seems to want what's best for the project, I decided to ignore all this and still planned for my next phone to be a Pixel (the only phones that Graphene supports). To the best of my knowledge, there's been no other drama. That is until this past Tuesday night, around midnight, when [this post showed up on my Mastodon feed](https://grapheneos.social/@GrapheneOS/112759424689620738):  Inside the thread is a link to [this article posted to the Graphene.org website](https://web.archive.org/web/20240710023713/https://grapheneos.org/articles/positon-location-service). The thread continues here:  That old, familiar pattern seems to be coming 'round again, this time with accusations toward the eOS guys, naming Gael Duval, the eOS lead developer, specifically. It's the same tired harassment and swatting allegations too, and never is there any actual evidence to justify it. Never a direct link to anything. The answer is always "go search on Twitter" or wherever. It's the same accusations that were levelled against his former partners in Copperhead, the guys at Calyx, Techlore, and Louis Rossman. I do want to say that I really don't have a problem with his attacks on the other *projects themselves*. In fact I welcome that. A developer that is cocky about his own projects, and states that everything else is inferior, dares anyone to demonstrate otherwise. It's a great way for everyone else to judge what is the best software to use, as the best will have a light shone upon it. It's the baseless *personal* attacks on other developers that I have a problem with. As Techlore said in his video about it, it's highschool drama that makes *everyone* look bad. It's reasonable to assume that this drama is simply not going to stop. Micay will continue to go down these spirals of depression, and lash out at whomever is convenient. My question is whether or not I should do what Louis Rossman did, and just go with a different OS? Micay does seem bent on sabotaging himself, and I almost feel like it's inevitable that eventually he will focus his sights on the project itself, rather than just competitors or people talking about (and promoting!) it. As has been pointed out by everyone, and even Daniel himself, he really needs to get help. *Everyone*, including Daniel, realises he is mentally ill. But this has been going on for the better part of a decade. I don't know if he's been seeing anyone to help him with these issues or not, but if he has, it clearly isn't helping. I can only hope that, if he does eventually attempt to sabotage the project, it will be discovered before anyone falls victim to malicious code. I don't mean to say that this *is definitely* going to happen. Perhaps my use of the word "inevitable" in the above paragraph is a little presumptuous, but I don't think the chances are zero. And I think it's very difficult to say what the chances really are. I said earlier that I believe he wants what's best for the project, and for now I'm sure this is true. I also think he could easily slip into a "fuck everybody" attitude, and then who knows? That's the problem with mentally ill people: they're unpredictable. In the end, I can't really say for sure what I'm going to do. At this point, in spite of Micay's obvious genius, I'd feel more comfortable if he was off the project altogether. I wish the other devs would just fork it and go their own way. Barring that happening, however, I'll probably just go the Calyx route. I think I'll still get a Pixel phone, in case the situation over at Graphene improves, but for now, I'm with Louis. I don't think it's wise to trust Daniel Micay's code right now. >[!note] Update 2024-08-20 >I've changed my position on the question of whether or not to install GrapheneOS on my phone. I've decided that, while there is indeed a risk, it is a negligible one, and I've gone ahead with the install. You can read about that [here](2024-08-20%20Developer%20Drama%20Part%203%20Ignore%20What%20I%20Said.md).