Benevolent_dictator_for_life

Benevolent dictator for life

Benevolent dictator for life

Title given to a small number of open-source software development leaders

For the political term, see Benevolent dictatorship.

Benevolent dictator for life (BDFL) is a title given to a small number of open-source software development leaders, typically project founders who retain the final say in disputes or arguments within the community. The phrase originated in 1995 with reference to Guido van Rossum, creator of the Python programming language.[1][2]

History

Shortly after Van Rossum joined the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, the term appeared in a follow-up mail by Ken Manheimer to a meeting trying to create a semi-formal group that would oversee Python development and workshops; this initial use included an additional joke of naming Van Rossum the "First Interim BDFL". According to Rossum, the title was most likely created by Ken Manheimer or Barry Warsaw[1]

In July 2018, Van Rossum announced that he would be stepping down as BDFL of Python without appointing a successor, effectively eliminating the title within the Python community structure.[3]

Usage

BDFL should not be confused with the more common term for open-source leaders, "benevolent dictator", which was popularized by Eric S. Raymond's essay "Homesteading the Noosphere" (1999).[4]

Among other topics related to hacker culture, Raymond elaborates on how the nature of open source forces the "dictatorship" to keep itself benevolent, since a strong disagreement can lead to the forking of the project under the rule of new leaders.[citation needed]

Referent candidates

Key
† Deceased
More information Name, Project ...

Organizational positions

  1. CTO of TerminusDB
  2. Lead Developer at the WordPress Foundation
  3. Chairman of the Blender Foundation
  4. Until December 2009, CEO of Canonical Ltd
  5. Technical Advisor at the F# Software Foundation
  6. Sponsee of the Linux Foundation. Also holds the trademark for Linux

See also

References

  1. Disputed by Wales; "I am not the benevolent dictator of anything"
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    Guido van Rossum (2008-07-31). "Origin of BDFL". Artima.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
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    Van Rossum, Guido (July 12, 2018). "Transfer of power". mail.python.org. Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
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    Raymond, Eric S. (2000). "Homesteading the Noosphere § Project Structures and Ownership". Eric S. Raymond's Home Page. Archived from the original on 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
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    "Spacemacs COMMUNITY.org". GitHub. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
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    "pandas 0.20.3 documentation: Tutorials". Retrieved 2017-07-24. "Wes McKinney's (pandas BDFL) blog"
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    "Orchard Project Steering Committee". Archived from the original on August 12, 2015.
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    "CONTRIBUTING.md · master · redox-os / redox". July 8, 2023.
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    "Contributing to the F# Language and Compiler". Retrieved 29 September 2015.
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    Dee-Ann LeBlanc (31 July 2006). Linux For Dummies (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-470-04793-4.
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    "SciPy 1.0.0". GitHub. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
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    Chozick, Amy (June 27, 2013). "Jimmy Wales is Not an Internet Billionaire". The New York Times.
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    "Jeremy Walker on Being the BDFL of Exercism by Humans of Open Source • A podcast on Anchor". Anchor. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
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    Book: Building Websites with DotNetNuke 5, Michael Washington and Ian Lackey, Packt Publishing. Page 14 "The core team comprises individuals invited to join the team by Shaun Walker, whom they affectionately call the "Benevolent Dictator".
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