AspirePressNov 9, 2024

@alineblankertz @tante @parismarx @Girgias there’s an incredibly fine line between good governance and the kind of insanity we’re seeing in WordPress.

AspirePress is working on a different model that we term BDFN (benevolent dictator for now). A manager, hired and accountable to stakeholders, needs to be able to run a project. But they should be able to be fired for malfeasance or failure to meet the objectives and standards of the project.

Show threadAspirePress
@alineblankertz @tante @parismarx @Girgias Direct democracy in open source produces poor outcomes, but BDFL models produce cults of personality and/or shortsighted results. A balance between the two is needed.
Nov 9, 2024 at 1:06pmWeb
Show threadAspirePressNov 9, 2024
@alineblankertz @tante @parismarx @Girgias open source leaders need to be skilled in consensus building and community leadership. It’s a different skill set than tech leadership or even running a business. It’s similar to but not identical to non-profit work. It’s a tough job, and it is distinctly different than the technical roadmap or direction of the project.
Show threadtanteNov 9, 2024
@AspirePress @alineblankertz @parismarx @Girgias I understand your position and "direct democracy" has sometimes been applied in not exactly productive ways (believe me, I've spend way too much of my time in leftist debate circles claiming to be projects) but I think that just casting user participation (and therefore stake) aside because having a single leader (even if elected) is simpler to manage and more traditional is understandable but IMO a tad to conservative. Developing structures and best practices that allow users to also have a say (which does _not_ necessarily mean that every bug/ticket needs to be voted on) is very important. Not just because giving people stake in the systems that affect them is morally right but also because I do believe that these tighter integrations can lead to better outcomes (in product and in funding for example).
Show threadtanteNov 9, 2024
@AspirePress @alineblankertz @parismarx @Girgias (This is not a critique of your project which I am looking at very closely because I think it is very important to save the wordpress infrastructure for the long term)
Show threadAspirePressNov 9, 2024

@tante @alineblankertz @parismarx @Girgias I think we agree more than we disagree.

A BDFN model isn’t absolute power in one persons hands. It’s the ability to make hard decisions and have them be respected until they can be revisited.

Community is wonderful. Sometimes you need someone who can legitimately say to different parts of it “I hear you, we need to do X, we’ll revisit in six months” and have credibility to do that.

This is a rarely used but vitally important skill and role.