Re: [gentoo-dev] Monthly Gentoo Council Reminder for January

[Kurt Lieber]

On Wed, Jan 04, 2006 at 07:57:06PM -0800 or thereabouts, Greg KH wrote:
> > Which is why Gentoo has jumped the shark and is now on a long, slow
> > decline.
>
> Ok, then what should Gentoo do to fix this percieved decline?

Exactly what a lot of folks will have kittens about; appoint a CEO, leader,
boss, manager, etc.  (you know, all those corporate-type words that raise
the hackles of nearly everyone on this list.)

Right now, Gentoo is this gigantic, obese amoeba that just sort of sits in
one place.  Different parts of it try to go in different directions, with
the net result being that the whole body never goes anywhere.  We haven't
done anything interesting or innovative over the last...year?  two years?
We have no effective leadership whatsoever.  We spend far too much time
arguing amongst ourselves instead of working as a team towards a common
goal.  

We should appoint one person to lead the project.  Make sure that person
knows WTF they're doing, are respected by the right developers, has a good
vision for Gentoo and then let them make decisions.  Expect people to
adhere to the decisions and, if they don't, invite them to find other
opportunities for their creative outlet.

That person should figure out what Gentoo wants to be when it grows up.
S/he should carefully consult the various stakeholders, look at the
strengths/weaknesses of Gentoo as it stands currently and then figure out
where the best direction is for it to proceed.  They should then be
responsible for making sure everyone (and I mean *everyone*) executes
according to this direction.  Folks who disagree with the vision will be
able to go their own direction and start their own projects.  That's the
beauty of the GPL. 

Anyway, I have no illusions of this idea ever being implemented in the
current Gentoo environment.  /shrug.  It was a good ride.

--kurt