“I'm basically giving myself a permanent vacation from being BDFL”

Yikes. Python has become so hugely popular and is used for so many different use cases that I fear the ecosystem is going to really struggle to find consistency and direction without a dictator.

Maybe we'll try something like a triumvirate? As best I can tell there are basically three areas where Python is dominant: web, data science, and academia. A single leader for each of those spheres could form a council where BDFL-level decisions could be made by fiat.

Each community could then form whatever organization they felt necessary to choose who to send to the triumvirate.

As as check on the power of the triumvirate, we could have something like a "Tribune of the Plebs" - a representative elected by open election from the entire community that holds veto authority over changes approved by the triumvirate.

Guido is only human. And one day, he will die. (Hopefully a long, long time from now.)

Guido is not asking Python to live without a dictator. Guido is asking Python to learn how to live without Guido, so that Python may outlive him.

This is a tale as old as time. Apple lives on with only memories of Steve Jobs. The United States lives on with only memories George Washington.

For some inspiration I'd recommend listening to the track "One Last Time" from the Hamilton musical:

"One Last Time" - Hamilton At The White House #ObamaLegacy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV4UpCq2azs

Original Broadway Cast Recording on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEqnXNsAFL8

Original Broadway Cast Recording on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/0Iys022UwQ8xBfxE1g4nWZ

This sounds familiar:)

"Apple lives on with only memories of Steve Jobs."

I think that remains to be seen.

you're missing a body that can decide in case of implementation disputes over the other two. we could even compare it to a court. since python is so huge, we would have several levels for triaging and appeals. and the top one would reign supreme.

He's going to sit under his own vine and fig tree :)

This would be the that body - it would be the final arbiter of what gets approved. The Tribune of the Plebs would not be able to approve anything at all, but would be able to unilaterally refuse to allow changes to be made.

The UN Security Council is somewhat similar in that respect, though comprised of more members. New matters are approved by majority vote, but the five permanent members can veto anything that gets approved.

My proposal is somewhat tongue in cheek, hence the names from the Roman Republic - but I do think the idea is sound.

An alternate, simpler implementation would be to simply require that all changes be unanimous. I like the idea of a Tribune of the Plebs though because it gives a second means of a voice should a sizable minority of members of the sub-communities strongly disagree with the direction of their representatives.

Hey - I'm from the US. We have a long tradition of stealing organizational ideas from the Romans.

TIL Tribune of the Plebs was a real thing. I was just parsing plebs as internet lingo for commonfolk :)

and in case it wasnt clear i was referencing the US tripartite governance model

> I think that remains to be seen.

I'm sure there's more you could have written, why hold back?

Django went through this years ago; Jacob and Adrian, who were the "BDFLs" of the project at the start, stepped down.

The current governance model is mostly around consensus on the dev list. There's a "technical board" elected every release cycle from among the committers, to act as a tie-breaker when needed, and with veto power over DEPs (Django's equivalent of PEPs) and adding new committers. I don't know of a case where that veto power has ever been exercised, FWIW.

It seems like Apple has lost the plot again, since Jobs' departure. Competent management but lacking vision. So, sure, it'll keep going forever, because that much capital can last and grow forever when competently managed. But, will Apple ever have another iPhone/iMac/iPod/etc. (the kind of product that shifts the entire industry in a notable way for the next 5-10 years)?

I could be wrong, and I don't follow Apple closely, but the impression I get from longtime Apple fans is that the last few years have been a stream of mild disappointments.