On Fri, Jul 20, 2018 at 09:59:39AM +0200, Antoine Pitrou wrote: > > Le 20/07/2018 à 01:47, Victor Stinner a écrit : > > > > What is the image sent to contributors if we create a subgroup inside > > core developpers called "council"? What if we elect a new BDFL *for > > life*? Does it mean that even core developers judgment are no longer > > trusted, only the council decision matters? What about people outside > > in the insider group of cores... regular contributors? Will anyone > > still listen to them? > > That's a very good point, I think. Creating intimidating structures may > not help attract new contributors. A BDFL is intimidating. Depending > on its name and powers, a council or collegial body can be intimidating > too (I'd recommend against naming it "Council of Elders", which IMHO > sends the wrong message).
Perhaps we could call it the Pythonic Inquisition, whose three weapons are experience, intelligence, the PEP process, and a fanatical dedication to backwards compatibility, and absolutely no braces. *wink* Please be explicit: what message do you think it sends which is the wrong message? I think that the messages sent include: - there is someone in charge; - this is a meritocracy; - you too could get into the council, someday; - but you aren't in it yet; - trust and responsibility comes in degrees; - and must be earned, not just granted to random people on the Internet because they ask for core developer rights; - the evolution of the language is driven by reasoned argument, not popularity contests. We've had a BDFL for a quarter of a century, and Python has done pretty well, possibly by far the most popular programming language not driven by a corporate owner or patron (and more popular than many languages which do have corporate owners). Of course it is impossible to prove a negative, we cannot dismiss the possibility that Guido-as-BDFL has been "sending the wrong message" for two decades, scaring off contributors and acting as a drag on Python's success. But I doubt it, and I doubt that a new BDFL or Council or Triumvirate would do so either. -- Steve _______________________________________________ python-committers mailing list python-committers@python.org https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-committers Code of Conduct: https://www.python.org/psf/codeofconduct/
