Benevolent Dictator for Life
Encyclopedia : B : BE : BEN : Benevolent Dictator for Life
Benevolent Dictator for Life (BDFL) is the informal, slightly tongue-in-cheek title given to a respected individual in the open source development community who sets general directions and makes final calls in certain situations within the scope of a given project.
A "benevolent dictator" (or Benevolent Dictator for Life) is the person who effectively holds dictator-like powers over that project, yet is trusted by other users/developers not to abuse this power. The term is used humorously, because the "subjects" of the project leader contribute voluntarily, and the end-product may be used by everyone. A dictator in this context has power only over the process, and that only for as long as he or she is trusted. Examples include Linus Torvalds: Linux kernel; Guido van Rossum: Python programming language; Larry Wall: Perl; Alexandre Julliard: Wine. Many claim Jimmy Wales is the benevolent dictator for Wikimedia Foundation, but it is argued that most of the power belongs to its board of directors.
Of course, a project coordinator cannot really be anything like a dictator in the sense that he or she ultimately cannot enforce a decision, since a project fork is always possible.
Not all, or even most, open source projects have a BDFL.
The title is a play on the concept of a benevolent dictator and a president for life.
SABDFL stands for "Self-Appointed Benevolent Dictator for Life". It is a similar, related term widely used in Linux-related communities, for leaders that own a powerful position for particular merits. Mark Shuttleworth: Ubuntu is an example of a SABDFL.
List of Benevolent Dictators for Life
- Art of Illusion
- * Peter Eastman
- Linux kernel
- * Linus Torvalds, explicitly recognising the "benevolent dictator" epithet, e.g. in the [interview published August 18, 2004 in Business Week]. He is also considered a Self-Appointed Benevolent Dictator for Life
- PHP scripting language
- * Rasmus Lerdorf
- Python programming language
- * Guido van Rossum, known for his conservatism in changing Python. Very little changes between Python versions, and what does change tends to be considered and discussed for months or years in advance.
- Ubuntu (Linux distribution)
- * Mark Shuttleworth, who goes by the username "sabdfl" on the Ubuntu mailing-list, forums and IRC channels.
- Wikipedia
- * Jimbo Wales, who however is not convinced he can be qualified as a "benevolent dictator" since wikis require less centralized management than typical software projects.
- Wine, the Open source implementation of the Windows API
- * Alexandre Julliard
See also
- Coordinatorism, the rule of a managerial class
- Digital Revolution
- New class, a name for the ruling class in nominally Communist countries
- Social class
- Technocrat
- Technocracy (bureaucratic)
- Charismatic authority
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.