Venkatesh Rao ☀️
@vgr
Prediction: In the decentralized future the concept of leader will become irrelevant and even the BDFx (x != L) concept will weaken, but the concept of frontman will remain. Too many patterns require a frontman to exist, even if purely ceremonial.
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Venkatesh Rao ☀️
@vgr
Reminds of how in algebraic topology a loop is a primary analytical device but you still need to specify a nominal start/end point to work with a loop.
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Venkatesh Rao ☀️
@vgr
The BDF!L (benevolent dictator but not for life) pattern is the single best idea in sociology of distributed systems but is *really* hard to pull off. When people are wary of BDFLing, they end up all waiting around for someone *else* to start. You must bind !L to a fixed epoch. I like M= month. BDFM is a good pattern.
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Venkatesh Rao ☀️
@vgr
BDF!L is what used to be called mission-command. In trad orgs it maps to project or program manager but that’s dangerous because projects/programs can be dragged on forever. That’s not bad. What’s bad is a manager-for-life.
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Venkatesh Rao ☀️
@vgr
A lot of BDF!L failure happens not because people develop dictator-for-life greed but because they have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility. So the trick is to take yourself offline chais monkey style, when the alternative is to overburden yourself. If something will fail as a result you have to let it.
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Venkatesh Rao ☀️
@vgr
In fact when people are generally nice and responsible, the only way for the system to grow stronger is for people to simulate irresponsibility. We often ask “what if they’re hit by a bus?” about critical people. The correct answer is to periodically let the bus hit you, so to speak.
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Venkatesh Rao ☀️
@vgr
At the yak collective @yak we’ve managed to institutionalize BDF!Ling to a large degree. A bunch of people periodically BDFM, and also let themselves be hit by a bus. We only trust systems that can survive this process.
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