[squeak-dev] What turns off newcomers
Sean Heber
sean at fifthace.com
Mon Apr 7 23:54:50 UTC 2008
On Apr 7, 2008, at 6:19 PM, Igor Stasenko wrote:
> I think , the main problem is more social than lack of manpower or
> funding: There is no high pressure from squeak community (and nobody
> having an ultimate power to force it) to abandon obsolete concepts,
> sacrifice ST-80 compatibility (partly) and move forward with system
> based on better design & modularity.
That's an interesting observation. A lot of the popular scripting
languages that move forward in sudden bursts are the ones with de-
facto heads of state such as Larry Wall or Guido von Rossum. These
are people who are in a position to announce to the entire community
that the next version is going down such-and-such path and that is
simply the way it is because their language is defined by their
personality, to some extent.
As an outsider, I see Squeak seeming to be trying to function under
an ideal democratic model where there's really no leadership at all.
Unfortunately, you can't please everyone all the time and expect any
changes to occur. Historically, you often need a single or small
group of focused radicals in a position of power to effect change -
for better or worse. The board could be that group of radicals by
doing things like getting together and redefining what "Squeak"
actually means. What it includes in an image. What it looks like.
How you use it. They can do this by refusing any and all changes
that do not further that new definition and by providing a quick path
to remove code but a slow one to add it. Actions like that could
cause tensions and ultimately Squeak may fork - or a new board gets
elected - but maybe that's okay, too. They will have tried. The
board could take the initiative and fork themselves starting a
"Squeak Classic" branch and redefining what "Squeak" means now and
into the future as the "main" branch without having to hurt too many
people's feelings along the way.
l8r
Sean
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