the cohesion and gatekeeping provided by a quality BDFL is hard to match with a community There needs to be some thought leadership and gatekeeping, otherwise

the cohesion and gatekeeping provided by a quality BDFL is hard to match with a community There needs to be some thought leadership and gatekeeping, otherwise you get evaporative cooling, chaos, and devolution to the Least Common Denominator. All "leaderless movements" are subject to this. https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ZQG9cwKbct2LtmL3p/evaporative-cooling-of-group-beliefs https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ZQG9cwKbct2LtmL3p/evaporativ... The problem with BDFLs, is that when they're wrong, there is sometimes no pressure relief valve. Sure, some communities (e.g. the Rust one) show that a sole person need not reside at the top. But that often comes with slow implementation/decision costs. What you're describing is a republic. There is no dictator. There is no absolute ruler. However, there are democratically chosen leaders who need to make decisions that won't make everyone happy. Most importantly, there is no tyranny of the majority.