Linus didn't just throw out a casual "Hey, let's create a new free unix from scratch." and get 400 people to give up their free time to make it happen. He had to present them with some of his own work first and then attract the 400.

There are many, many OSS projects that start out as a good idea with a few people collaborating, that die a death because there is no core upon which to collaborate and no single-minded individual with a clear vision of where he wants to get to, driving them.

Almost anything that is truely innovative has a single person with a vision that starts the ball rolling. And that same person then takes the, often capricious, decisions that prevent it from sprawling in all directions and pettering out into nothingness.

Dogged, single-minded, cussedness is a trait shared by many people later seen to be visionary. The problem they face, almost universally, is getting their contemporaries to look past their own dogmas with an open mind. And the more authoratative the credentials of their contempraries, the harder that task becomes.

Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
Lingua non convalesco, consenesco et abolesco. -- Rule 1 has a caveat! -- Who broke the cabal?
"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
The "good enough" maybe good enough for the now, and perfection maybe unobtainable, but that should not preclude us from striving for perfection, when time, circumstance or desire allow.

In reply to Re^3: On waiting until a word becomes a better place... by BrowserUk
in thread On waiting until a world becomes a better place... by Eyck

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