How much has this author worked in open source? Getting a patch into Linux is pretty damn high-context, indeed git was created specifically as a way for Linus to manage a network of trust instead of just a sea of patches.
She has a lot of experience in open source, to say the least. From the author's about page -
"I currently work as the Head of Developer Engagement at Mozilla. I also am an advisor for HFOSS, OpenSource World, and IntraHealth Open, as well as founder and president of Kids on Computers, a nonprofit organization setting up computer labs in schools where kids have no other access to technology.
Previously I have worked as Executive Director of the GNOME Foundation, established OpenLogic‘s Expert Community and founded and ran HP’s Open Source Program Office."
I think trust in the context of Linux has nothing to do with interpersonal context and is about procedural trust (kind of like CA certificates and SSL). Not the same thing at all.
Because of the depth of its impact, the Linux kernel is also probably different from other OSS projects. As a user and developer, I am orders of magnitude more likely to submit a patch to FF than Linux. Maybe that's just because I'm more familiar with higher level coding, but I think working something as involved as a kernel necessarily requires a significant amount of technical context.
