Rasmus Lerdorf wrote: > Perception and warm fuzzies is an extremely important part of > a large open source project that relies heavily on a large > number of volunteers. Messing with that is playing with fire.
You've hit it bang on. [noise] The clinical name for the 'fire' in this case is "cycle of alienation", and in any environment that relies on volunteers, this 'cycle' is almost impossible to avoid. I've been amazed over the 4+ years since I jumped onto the list how well this group has been able to circumvent the problems that normally plague projects of this size and scope. FWIW, the number one cause of the cycle is information sharing amongst a smaller subgroup formed from the main group, usually without their knowledge. In most cases, the result is fatal. The few groups I've seen actually emerge from an active cycle are irreparably damaged. [/noise] Regards Mike Robinson -- PHP Development Mailing List <http://www.php.net/> To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
