On Fri, Apr 28, 2023, at 3:17 PM, Levi Morrison via internals wrote: > On Fri, Apr 28, 2023 at 4:01 AM Jakub Zelenka <bu...@php.net> wrote: >> >> Hi, >> >> The vote is now open for the RFC about introduction of the PHP Technical >> Committee: >> >> https://wiki.php.net/rfc/php_technical_committee >> >> Regards >> >> Jakub > > Do we really need this level of bureaucracy? I mean... I know > someone's work got rejected and that wasn't a great situation, and I > feel for them because it was handled poorly IMO. But this committee > seems like a lot of work for... what? Being able to solve an > occasional disagreement? This seems like more work than it solves, > with some bad downsides if "the wrong people" get in there. You know, > the power-hungry egotistical kind of people.
It's not just about dealing with the occasional fights like over rearranged include statements, although it is partially that. It's also about making it clear who the technical leaders are. Right now, PHP badly suffers from the Tyranny of Structurelessness (https://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/tyranny.htm). The TC provides a fairly low-effort way to help with that. How does a new dev know "how things are done?" around here? At a code level. Basically they don't. They have to ask people, but who to ask? Whose answer is more trustworthy? They don't know. The TC is a clear place to "set the tone", technically speaking. If it often doesn't do much, well, great. That means things are moving smoothly. But it's always good to have tools and processes in place *before* you need them. > with some bad downsides if "the wrong people" get in there. You know, > the power-hungry egotistical kind of people. This is a common strawman argument, frankly. Yes, any time you have a position of any authority, it's possible for it to be usurped by a malicious actor. But malicious actors can take over unstructured systems just as well. And benevolent actors have a harder time opposing them and doing good when hamstrung by a lack of structure or clear process. There is a vast, vast range of possible structures between total anarchy (current PHP status quo) and a malevolent dictator lording over everyone. Almost every major OSS project has some kind of structure and leadership and decision making process. PHP is the only meaningful exception. That's not because we're special. PHP has succeeded thus far despite having an anarchic anti-pattern structure, not because of it. The TC is a small, modest, but productive step forward to resolve practical issues. That's exactly the sort of thing PHP keeps telling people is how to get things done. So, let's get things done. --Larry Garfield -- PHP Internals - PHP Runtime Development Mailing List To unsubscribe, visit: https://www.php.net/unsub.php
