The reason 9front exists is because it was too difficult to get patches applied to mainline plan9. Like geoff for mainline, 9front has cinap as gatekeeper to maintain quality and when possible stability. Also cinap is a programming monster and keeps on improving 9front in big steps, so there isn't really any competition from the point of view of a user.
Our way of collaboration might not be everybody's style: Grant money doesn't exist, just one clear goal for everybody: advancing 9front. Depending on the quality, contributions are either discussed till fruition or, for trivial stuff, cleaned up and applied without big discussion. Nobody is left to wonder for months why his patches suck, there's always detailed feedback, for the people who want to improve. Even as a bystander you can learn a lot from the process. Admittedly a big chunk of the communication happens on irc (#cat-v) and is not always efficient. Sadly it's hard to work together if you don't all sit in the same lab, so it's the best we can do. Still there are very enlightening moments every now and then that are extremely satisfying. Honest and early feedback helps the less experienced people not get off track. For some of us 9front is also a very important counterbalance to bad technological decisions at our workplaces. Of course we also multiply the rumours, secrecy, fear and misunderstandings that have arisen around the plan 9 community with our awesome propaganda and humour. So I see people getting offended and distancing themselves. Sometimes it's not clear whether we should laugh about this or be sad. I don't speak for 9front, I speak for myself. People sadly aren't used to the idea that we're all just independent individuals, so I'm leaving this disclaimer here trying to avoid making a bad impression on the project.
