4 ms·

A foundation should invest in its technology first and resist the strong temptation to fund pet projects (of leadership) with donated money.

nedbat 10mo ago
I'm not sure what you are labeling as pet projects of leadership? Is there something the PSF is doing that you consider a pet project rather than part of their core mission?
- mixmastamyk 10mo ago
  Yes, outreach before investing in packaging. It’s not that outreach is bad but that packaging was crumbling.
  - nedbat 10mo ago
    I'm not sure how you got to "before" here. The PSF runs PyPI, organizes the Python Packaging Authority, supports sprints and standardization efforts, funds developers in residence and so on. Packaging is improving, partly because of those efforts. It's not an either/or.
    - mixmastamyk 10mo ago
      https://devclass.com/2025/03/10/pypi-repository-takes-steps-towards-paid-services-as-volunteers-struggle-to-meet-demand/ https://devclass.com/2025/03/10/pypi-repository-takes-steps-... > CPython core developer Paul Moore described his involvement in the > packaging community and said: “it’s struggling under the weight of its own > popularity … the individuals involved are doing their best under what are > frankly near-impossible conditions.” > Moore questioned whether the fact that so many businesses now depend on > Python and PyPI meant that “maybe a purely volunteer basis simply can’t > work any more,” though he hoped this is not the case.
      - nedbat 10mo ago
        Yes, it could use more funding. Glad to see that Anthropic is helping. It's still not an either/or situation. The PSF would not be fulfilling their mission if they only funded packaging until packaging was "solved" (whatever that might mean) and only then did they fund outreach.
        mixmastamyk 10mo ago
        I didn't say either/or, and was talking about priorities. One shouldn't install a fancy roof when the foundation is crumbling. > The PSF would not be fulfilling their mission if they only funded packaging until packaging was "solved" (whatever that might mean) and only then did they fund outreach. They did the opposite. So they still didn't fulfill it, to the extent that Mozilla, ChanZuck, and astral felt compelled to step in.

nedbat 10mo ago

I'm not sure what you are labeling as pet projects of leadership? Is there something the PSF is doing that you consider a pet project rather than part of their core mission?

mixmastamyk 10mo ago
Yes, outreach before investing in packaging. It’s not that outreach is bad but that packaging was crumbling.
- nedbat 10mo ago
  I'm not sure how you got to "before" here. The PSF runs PyPI, organizes the Python Packaging Authority, supports sprints and standardization efforts, funds developers in residence and so on. Packaging is improving, partly because of those efforts. It's not an either/or.
  - mixmastamyk 10mo ago
    https://devclass.com/2025/03/10/pypi-repository-takes-steps-towards-paid-services-as-volunteers-struggle-to-meet-demand/ https://devclass.com/2025/03/10/pypi-repository-takes-steps-... > CPython core developer Paul Moore described his involvement in the > packaging community and said: “it’s struggling under the weight of its own > popularity … the individuals involved are doing their best under what are > frankly near-impossible conditions.” > Moore questioned whether the fact that so many businesses now depend on > Python and PyPI meant that “maybe a purely volunteer basis simply can’t > work any more,” though he hoped this is not the case.
    - nedbat 10mo ago
      Yes, it could use more funding. Glad to see that Anthropic is helping. It's still not an either/or situation. The PSF would not be fulfilling their mission if they only funded packaging until packaging was "solved" (whatever that might mean) and only then did they fund outreach.
      - mixmastamyk 10mo ago
        I didn't say either/or, and was talking about priorities. One shouldn't install a fancy roof when the foundation is crumbling. > The PSF would not be fulfilling their mission if they only funded packaging until packaging was "solved" (whatever that might mean) and only then did they fund outreach. They did the opposite. So they still didn't fulfill it, to the extent that Mozilla, ChanZuck, and astral felt compelled to step in.