Quality control in open source development

[Terry Reedy]

Dave wrote:
> With the open source licenses that allow redistribution of modified
> code, how do you keep someone unaffiliated with the Python community
> from creating his or her own version of python, and declaring it to be
> Python 2.6, or maybe Python 2.7 without any approval of anyone at the
> PSF? Maybe their code is terrible, and not even compatible with the
> rest of Python! How can the PSF, for example, maintain the quality and
> coheren of new code contributed to be part of Python, or derivative
> works that claim to be some future version of Python? If licensees can
> redisribute as they like, isn't this a huge problem? Is this dealt
> with be restricting use of the Python trademarks?  Just curious..

The Python license says:
"In the event Licensee prepares a derivative work that is based on or 
incorporates Python 3.0c1 or any part thereof, and wants to make the 
derivative work available to others as provided herein, then Licensee 
hereby agrees to include in any such work a brief summary of the changes 
made to Python 3.0c1."

Other licenses specify that derivatives use a different name or even 
distribute changes as a patch for the unchanged original.