The "Doctor Who" Model of Open Source

Glyn Moody writes "Open source projects are generally fine when there's a long-term leader like Linus; but what happens when nobody is able or willing to run things for extended periods? Peter Murray-Rust explains how the open chemistry group known as the Blue Obelisk has evolved what he calls the 'Doctor Who Model of Open Source': 'You'll recall that every few years something fatal happens to the Doctor and you think he is going to die and there will never be another series. Then he regenerates. The new Doctor has a different personality, a different philosophy (though always on the side of good). It is never clear how long any Doctor will remain unregenerated or who will come after him. And this is a common theme in the Blue Obelisk.' Could other open source projects learn from this experience as long-term leaders start to move on?"

Comments

Re:The "Doctor Who" Model?

[Eevee]

Association football. It's that thing happening down on the pitch between the outbreaks of fights up in the stands between rival gangs of hooligans. From wikipedia: The term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as a slang abbreviation of the word "association"

Re:WTF?

[mrchaotica]

Nah, there was continuity between all movies, including ones played by different actors (until the Daniel Craig ones, which is why it was called a "reboot"). For example, Roger Moore's Bond lays flowers on Tracy Bond's grave in For Your Eyes Only, even though it was George Lazenby's Bond who married her (in On Her Majesty's Secret Service).