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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?"
Doctor Who? We're talking about a contrivance that was used to explain away actors leaving a show. Meanwhile, in reality, open source projects leave a lot of code that may or may not be well-documented. Changing project managers every few years strikes me as rather difficult, although I guess if you can maintain interest in the project throughout, it could still be a success. Still, it seems like a warning sign to me, kind of like when a movie has 5 screenwriters or 5 editors.
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
After 12 deaths, you need hyper-advanced aliens from another planet to grant a new regeneration cycle? Does Davros take over? I'll explain later.
Feudalism with a herditary monarchy. Trouble is anybody who works on open source projects doesn't breed, so you'd have succession wars all the time.
No change there, then.
Only three things are certain; death, taxes, and apocryphal quotations - Ben Franklin.
with characters such as RBS, Linus, Guido Python, Larry Perl, etc.
Um..... RMS, Linus Torvalds, Guido van Rossum, Larry Wall
You mean the model where something is only deemed entertaining because everything else is either soccer or BBC news? And after a decade or so people just stop caring and the the whole things becomes a kind of national joke? That model?
I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
For example, that Eccelson chap was a good first pick. When he sharted off to go do other things, Tennant was a good replacement. But now that Tennant is ready to pass the baton, the new pick they have looks like a total tit with his flock of seagulls hair. We might be stuck with a Doctor firmly entrenched in the 80's with all that entails. Simply naff.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Eccelson was the ninth pick...
And if the project lays dormant for a while and comes back in a completely new direction that doesn't even match up with where the project previously was, they'll just make up a "Time War" to explain away the differences.
I dunno, I think there might be something here, but also expand on it:
The Dalek model: One strong personality creates the project, and gets it to a first release.. then the other developers overthrow him, split the project, wage holy war upon the rest of the world (and each other), but occasionally bring back the original founder for their own reasons.. overall the project won't die since it's still popular with the masses even though everyone knows it's evil. (I submit 'Joomla/Mambo' for this model)
The Cybermen Model: Have a basic idea/product, but adapt it to every possible platform known to man even though there's little change between them. (I submit as an example the 'Nuke' CMS)
The "Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart" model: A project led by a Scottish project lead for the sole-purpose of getting tax credits
----- The internet has given everyone the ability to have their voice heard equally as loud.. even if they shouldn't be
Cybermen. Embrace, extend, extinguish. The Daleks usually skip the first two parts, though in the case of the Bad Wolf arc finale-duology and at least one of the Cult of Skaro episodes, they've taken all three steps.
So that makes Hans Reiser the 6th Doctor, right?
I find the "Dread Pirate Roberts" Model to be the most effective model for open source.
Well, if anyone is the daleks my pick would be Oracle.
Running around pointing and screaming "Exterminate" is totally Larry Ellson'ish.
The Master Model: Ego-maniacal evil super-geek genius builds a kind of cool but scarily 'wrong' empire with no moral center, which woos the sheeple into obedience and generally locks down the whole of creation, apparently because lots of people being free and happy is a bad thing. I'm sure there's at least one world-spanning all-mighty software company out there which follows this model, but it is better not to utter its name aloud. . .
As for the Cyberman Model. . . A design ethic which envisions Smooth, Sleek, Uniform technology with the mission-statement of dumbing down and alleviating humanity of having to think about anything difficult through the use of simple but elegant ear pods? Whoever can pull off con jobs of that size and scope must also be an evil genius super-geek, though probably one who is somewhat easier to sympathize with. After all, he just wants to remove suffering and complexity from the human equation.
Open Source is very Doctor Who. Cobbled together from shared resources by a rag-tag team of unpaid geniuses who seem to derive altogether too much enjoyment from life while spreading the fruits of their labors far and wide.
The Doctor is Dead, Long Live the Doctor!
-FL
You jest perhaps... but you are on to something there!
Hawkeye disrespected petty bureaucracy, rebelled in general against closed-mindedness, thought laterally to solve problems, had fun, and always thought of the patient's need first.
That sounds exactly like the right way to run any organization!
Key members of the project being replaced after a certain amount of time would be more aptly named the Menudo Model Of Open Source.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menudo_(band)
As long as were drawing models from science fiction, may I suggest a "Last Starfighter" system of open source? We scatter special arcade games all across the world. Kid's think they are playing a simple game, when in reality they are training to become project managers of the future in the war against closed source and proprietary software. Also, Richard Stallman gets a spaceship.
Actually, it's an excellent model for personal behavior, but I'm not sure if it works for an organization. Herding cats is trivially easy compared to herding Hawkeye Pierces. Any cooperation and coordination between them is ad-hoc and short-lived. No one can be a member of an organization, or claim to be qualified to lead one, while calling themselves a "maverick". :p
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
Thanks for pointing out that using such a fucking horrible idea in your TV show is a horrible fucking idea for your OSS project as well.
I absolutely can not fucking stand the change of the Doctor. I understand the plot device, I understand that it makes it easy to replace the staring role if theres a problem, and I still think it is the most retarded plot device in the history of man, well short of that giant space worm in StarWars.
Just like the TV show, this sort of thing isn't a GOOD IDEA, its a great backup plan, but is fucking retarded if you plan on doing it on a regular basis, intentionally or otherwise. Bringing in new blood and ideas is fine, new leadership every few years is a good way to get no where as they all step in and prevent the work from the last guy from being completed because this new guy has an entirely different view of the world.
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
You mean Eccelston wasn't even considered for the part back in 1963 (when the first series started) when he was -1 years old (born in 1964)?
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