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'Maybe the problem is you' ... Linus Torvalds wades into Linux kernel Rust driver drama
(www.theregister.com)
this post was submitted on 08 Feb 2025
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Also a reply so you can understand a bit how things typically work in FOSS projects.
There's a democracy in healthy ones, but ultimately, there has to be someone at the top that has the final say. The project maintainer/main contributor. Someone who gets to be the tie breaker, or absolutely final authority on what does or doesn't make it into a patch/version/etc.
This is extremely common, and generally healthy, in these kinds of ecosystems.
Yes, that's just the way it is in systems that involve humans. But when that final authority refuses to make a necessary decision, what do you do?
Fork. Setting up a whole new project infrastructure, getting fellow developers on board with your putsch and everything can be a PITA but all those are natural hurdles, due to how the licensing works the BDFL has no way to stop you.
As such, as a BDFL you rule by the grace of authority of the bootmaker. If you don't make sense, if you aren't respected, sooner than later the community is going to leave you behind.
Poop in their bed!
Is it healthy, or is it just the way it is? What makes it healthy?
It has worked successfully for linux for decades and other FOSS projects like Python have successfully followed the same model.