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I don't think this is in any way related to "good" or "bad" times, but rather something much simpler: software made by way too many people is invariably bad. So

by herval 3y ago

I don't think this is in any way related to "good" or "bad" times, but rather something much simpler: software made by way too many people is invariably bad. Software made with the wrong incentives first (promotions, pleasing the board) is invariably bad. That's it, really, and it's completely orthogonal to "good" or "bad" times.

nradov 3y ago
Is the Linux kernel bad? It was made by many people. How do we tell how many is too many?
- herval 3y ago
  it had many contributors, but organized through very few reviewers, and in a very organized fashion. It's a good example of reasonably well executed software IMO - nobody pushing code to get promoted or pushing for growth hacks in the codebase. I don't think there's a specific number that makes a software team suddenly "too big", but you can clearly see how different the dynamic is when you're in a team that's too big
- jakeinspace 3y ago
  Little monetary incentive, plus a hyper competent benevolent dictator.
- xorcist 3y ago
  Linus pretty much set the culture for Linux development, it is strongly guided by the taste of a handful maintainers. You could never take something from the two week sprint people and get it merged, it would be scrutinized in minute detail by maintainers that have an opinion on exactly how the whole is put together and understand every part under their watch. So you could argue that Linux in reality is developed by only a handful. The orbiting thousands of developers is the force multiplier. Once in a while someone drenched in the culture slowly dissipates to the inner circle. That's how it survives. By way of a strong culture. The downside is that it can also be a bit unforgiving. Linus style of project leadership is quite well known, but the guy has very good taste and is in it for the long run. That's the secret to making it all work. That, and the luck of being at the right place at the right time.

by herval 3y ago

nradov 3y ago

Is the Linux kernel bad? It was made by many people. How do we tell how many is too many?

herval 3y ago
it had many contributors, but organized through very few reviewers, and in a very organized fashion. It's a good example of reasonably well executed software IMO - nobody pushing code to get promoted or pushing for growth hacks in the codebase. I don't think there's a specific number that makes a software team suddenly "too big", but you can clearly see how different the dynamic is when you're in a team that's too big
jakeinspace 3y ago
Little monetary incentive, plus a hyper competent benevolent dictator.
xorcist 3y ago
Linus pretty much set the culture for Linux development, it is strongly guided by the taste of a handful maintainers. You could never take something from the two week sprint people and get it merged, it would be scrutinized in minute detail by maintainers that have an opinion on exactly how the whole is put together and understand every part under their watch. So you could argue that Linux in reality is developed by only a handful. The orbiting thousands of developers is the force multiplier. Once in a while someone drenched in the culture slowly dissipates to the inner circle. That's how it survives. By way of a strong culture. The downside is that it can also be a bit unforgiving. Linus style of project leadership is quite well known, but the guy has very good taste and is in it for the long run. That's the secret to making it all work. That, and the luck of being at the right place at the right time.