Technology

To use another example, a musician might be known to be an asshole during their lifetime. Then they die. Is it harmful to listen to their music if you're not contributing anything to their estate or their estate isn't run by similar assholes? It's debatable and a gray area, but I'd probably say no in most circumstances.

How about if they're known to be an asshole and you buy their albums anyway, you go to their concerts, and you loudly pronounce on social media how you support them and that their work is great? That's a much easier case to make to say, yes, you're being harmful.

You're supporting someone who is an asshole, and you're doing--at least--two types of harm:

(1) you're demonstrating tolerance for shitty behavior which does not provide a good negative reinforcement to correct the shitty behavior, and

(2) you're positively reinforcing the shitty behavior through your support

It might be more nuanced if there were higher stakes involved, such as if the good belying this debate was of crucial need to help along a much larger good cause. But that's where particulars matter. The contributions these assholes are making are not solving world hunger. They're nerdy little Linux bits.

Use the bullshit all you want, but for fuck's sake stop materially supporting and going on a promotional tour with the assholes that made it.