I've been following this conversation with interest--I don't know that I  
consider it gloomy, since Squeak continues to progress and is being used  
for interesting things--and I wonder how much of the problem stem from the  
design philosophy of "everything available all the time to everyone".

But I'm more interested in the question of: What would it take to bring  
all these disparate functional projects (spoon, traits, etc.) into a  
Squeak (or a not-Squeak, if necessary) that could form a solid core? In  
the martial arts, flexibility is a friend to stability, not a foe. :-)  
Wouldn't traits provide all the flexibility needed while improving  
stability?

I've been having fun with Squeak, but I've just been dipping my toe in.  
The waters look murky and turbulent.