On Thu, 2005-10-20 at 17:12 -0700, Nate Wiger wrote: > If Perl 6 is going to be successful, this means it must change the > fewest key things with the most benefits.
I think there's an assumption here that not only do I not hold but I do not even understand. Suppose that I am a game developer with a small, very devoted and vocal group of fans. I interact with them regularly through IRC, message boards, and occasionally even private e-mail. I decide to create a new game and start to do some market research. Obviously I ask my core group of fans what they want. They oblige: more of everything they loved from previous games, harder difficulties, more in-jokes, and all of the new features they've always wanted in my previous games. I listen to them and write the game that my core fans want and, if I'm really surprisingly amazingly lucky, other people want it too and it's a success. More likely, it sells a few copies outside of my fanbase and I learn a painful lesson: there are more people you are not currently reaching than you are currently reaching. It's worth keeping them in mind. -- c
