My 2c worth. It seems like there is a general bottleneck. A lot of ideas don't get used because there is a hurdle that people have to make change that satisfy all code requirements like tests/reuse of blocks etc. This makes for a larger than necessary hurdle for people to contribute.
Looks like Gilles tried to solve this problem. One alternative is to place alternative/new code in a nursery/experimental package parallel to the main line of code. This nursery code wouldn't be subject to the deprecation step or stability guarantees. The nursery packages should be better than the main line of code or solve an unsolved problem demonstrated with appropriate tests. That way, users will be aware of and can benefit from the ability to solve a problem in CM. This will also be "advertisement" for the needed work to include the work in the main line of code. Cheers, -Ajo
