[Wikipedia-l] Re: Benevolent dictators

[lcrocker at nupedia.com]

> ...in free software development you /need/ benevolent dictators
> or what you get is the type of performance and other software
> problems we had in Phase II. Correct me if I am wrong, but under
> Phase II each developer could on a whim add or take away things.
> Now everything major has to be reviewed by a single highly
> competent and hard working person -- Lee. 

Well, that's not really the way it is--but it's kind of become
that way accidentally.  There's no real difference in process other
than the bug tracker.  Other developers can and have checked in
their own code (Brion and Magnus, specifically).  It's just that
99% of the work is being done by me at the moment.  But there's no
technical reason you or anyone else couldn't.  A complete stranger
sent me a patch file for a bug fix a few days ago.

Of course, just as in the wiki, I can back out changes made by
others if I think they're unstable or otherwise ill-advised.  And
Brion could back out mine if he wanted, and he has access to the
server to install stuff just like I do as well.  So far we haven't
had the equivalent of an "edit war" with the code, but we might if
one of us makes a real drastic change.

And of course, even with a benevolent dictator model, anyone is
free to question their benevolence...