> Of course, it requires thicker skin on both sides of the coin, but in hindsight the tech benefits often outweigh the politics. And this is exactly why the BD

> Of course, it requires thicker skin on both sides of the coin, but in hindsight the tech benefits often outweigh the politics. And this is exactly why the BDFL model is not sustainable in a longer term. I do agree that a consistent tie-breaker (a role of GvR, a stereotypical BDFL, was indeed much like this) is good to have, but a BDFL eventually becomes a venerable monarch whose everything become controversial enough to make one a political entity regardless of one's intention. As GvR shows this also puts a lot of burden to a single person.