Small Communities, Big Gatekeeping: Exclusivity or Elitism?

Chapter 10: The Micro-Tribe Strategy

"The most successful developer communities in 2025 have fewer than 150 members. They grow by saying no, not yes. Exclusivity creates value."

The book celebrates small, exclusive communities over open access. But isn't this just creating new "old boys' clubs"? Are we replacing open source with closed doors?

Questions for Debate:

The Exclusion Problem

• How is limiting access different from discrimination?
• Who decides who's "worthy" of joining?
• Are we creating developer elites and underclasses?

The Access Inequality

• What about developers who need community but can't get in?
• Does exclusivity favor those with existing connections?
• Are we making tech even less accessible?

The Value Question

• Is artificial scarcity creating real value?
• Or just the perception of value?
• Who benefits from exclusive communities?

Share Your Experience:

The Insiders:

• What exclusive communities are you part of? How did you get in?
• What value does exclusivity actually provide?
• Do you feel guilty about those excluded?

The Outsiders:

• What communities have you been excluded from?
• How does exclusivity affect your career opportunities?
• Is the "micro-tribe" trend making tech less welcoming?

The Systemic Issues:

The Network Effects:

• Do exclusive communities concentrate opportunity?
• Are we creating informal hiring cartels?
• What happens to merit-based advancement?

The Diversity Impact:

• Do exclusive communities become homogeneous?
• How do underrepresented groups break in?
• Are we undoing decades of inclusion work?

The Knowledge Hoarding:

• Should valuable knowledge be gatekept?
• Is exclusivity antithetical to open source values?
• What happens when the best information requires membership?

The Community Models:

The Arguments For:

• Higher quality discussions
• Stronger relationships
• More valuable connections
• Better signal-to-noise ratio

The Arguments Against:

• Reinforces existing privilege
• Limits diverse perspectives
• Creates information inequality
• Contradicts open source ethos

The Practical Reality:

Starting a Micro-Tribe:

• How do you choose initial members?
• What criteria determine worthiness?
• How do you avoid creating an echo chamber?

Joining Micro-Tribes:

• Is it who you know or what you know?
• Should you pay for exclusive access?
• How many exclusive communities are too many?

The Alternative Approaches:

Open But Curated:

• Can you maintain quality without exclusivity?
• What about rotating membership?
• Are there inclusive ways to create intimacy?

The Public Good:

• Should valuable communities be public resources?
• Is there a moral obligation to share knowledge?
• Can exclusivity and ethics coexist?

The Future Implications:

The Stratification:

• Are we creating a caste system in tech?
• Will public communities become worthless?
• Is this sustainable or heading for backlash?

The Competition:

• Do exclusive communities compete or collaborate?
• What happens when everyone wants exclusivity?
• Does this actually create value or destroy it?

Your Ethics:

Is building exclusive communities strategic necessity or moral failure?

Would you exclude others to increase your community's value?