4 ms·

I agree, committees are good at saying no. They tend to say no to two not perfect ideas and then force a consensus containing most often the worst aspects of bo

I agree, committees are good at saying no. They tend to say no to two not perfect ideas and then force a consensus containing most often the worst aspects of both original approaches. The good news is that the result is so bloated that can‘t be changed and so provides a stable foundation for years of misery. There are counter examples of course but the power dynamic of committees is not conductive to results that have properties desirable in software.

skriticos2 2y ago
When I think about the two models, I have Linux as the dictator type and XML as committee designed. Both are functional enough, but the while so few data points are hardly conclusive, I think it's generally indicative. I'm not a particular fan of XML, even if it's functional enough to get the job done. Of course you have to find a dictator that is ready to invest all the time and energy to care for a project over a prolonged time and is actually capable of doing so while avoiding to alienate the user base. That's a pretty tall order.
- bawolff 2y ago
  > I'm not a particular fan of XML, even if it's functional enough to get the job done. XML by itself is okay-ish. The true design by comittee disasters are the specs surrounding it. XMLSignature, SOAP, etc