Um.
Geez. I go away for a week and all Heck breaks loose.
Obviously, emotions are running very high right now. It's
particularly unfortunate that we've reached this crisis right now,
when we are perhaps 6 weeks away from a beta. Without a solid
4.x port, all this argument is a complete waste of time.
I've heard a lot of argument, but so far I haven't heard anyone
offer compelling criticisms of the progress being made on the
port itself (although I just got back a couple of hours ago so
maybe I've missed them). It seems to me that, no matter how
grave individual concerns may be about the long-term
governance of the project, anything that slows down the current
port--especially including threats to quit--are hugely
counter-productive.
If the community does not finish the 4.x port and fix the most
serious problems with aD's implementation in the next couple of
months, this project will almost certainly remain little more than
a toy for hobbyists. Already, within the ACES world, there are
rumblings that the platform may not be moving fast enough for
some of its most ardent supporters. While we bicker, the
competition moves ahead.
It seems to me that all involved parties have to think hard about
what it is they want to get out of the community. And if the answer
is a competitive software platform that will open up new
opportunities for your business, then we each have to look
extremely carefully at the degree to which our individual
participation in the current crisis increases the risk that we will
fail to build that platform.
