[python-committers] Reminder of BDFL succession timeline + CFP

[Paul Moore]

On Thu, 2 Aug 2018 at 08:50, Steven D'Aprano <steve at pearwood.info> wrote:

> Indeed. A hard deadline concentrates the mind. It doesn't need to be
> tomorrow, I think your choosen dates are a great balance, neither too
> quick nor too drawn out.

But it also encourages people (particularly people with limited free
time) to rush decisions, and focus on "getting something done in
time", rather than "doing the right thing". Balancing those two
pressures is not easy, and the balance point varies significantly
between individuals.

> If Python is still rudderless by Christmas, I think we have failed.

Do you really consider Python "rudderless" at the moment? I only
really see two threads (excluding this one ;-)) that could give that
impression - "None-aware operators", where the discussion was
deliberately re-opened when Guido stepped down, to have a debate in
the absence of a BDFL (a decision which I personally feel was
ill-advised, but which IMO excludes it from any consideration in this
context) and the discussion on optimising PyCFunction (which is highly
technical, and has 2 specialists disagreeing - that's pretty much
guaranteed to drag on for a while). Most things are carrying on as
usual (with a certain level of people wondering what will happen, but
not in a way that's blocking activity).

I honestly think that describing the current situation as "rudderless"
and a "failure" if it carries on, is a pretty big exaggeration. Maybe
at worst, Python 3.8 will be relatively light on new features, but
that's not necessarily a bad thing (and yes, I understand that's a
decision by inaction. but personally I'm OK with it). Not so much a
moratorium, as "taking a breath".

Paul