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We invented a role-based organizational chart. So, yes, the foundation is already independent of individuals, except that the BDFL role is reserved for Dr. Samuel M. Smith.
Trying to become independent of the original inventor too early would be a significant error, especially in the KERI case and because of our stage. Not to mention the apparent lack of respect for the work done, which oozes from an approach to try and outnumber the critical roles with voting power, this setup has failed before (and will again), not only in KERI’s history but in numerous other open-source projects.
A BDFL, which stands for “Benevolent Dictator For Life,” is an informal title given to influential leaders in open-source software development projects.
This term typically refers to project founders or primary creators who retain final decision-making authority over the project’s direction and development.
The concept of BDFL originated in 1995 and is closely associated with the Python programming language community. Guido van Rossum, the creator of Python, was jokingly named the “First Interim BDFL”.
Key characteristics of a BDFL include:
1. Ultimate authority on technical decisions
2. Influence over coding standards and core design philosophies
3. Veto power over proposed changes
4. Collaborative work with the community while maintaining a consistent vision
Notable examples of BDFLs include:
• Guido van Rossum (Python)
• Linus Torvalds (Linux kernel)
• Larry Wall (Perl)
• Yukihiro Matsumoto (Ruby)
• Samuel Smith (Keri)
It’s important to note that the BDFL title is honorary and based on community trust. If a BDFL were to act irresponsibly, the project could be forked.
Some people didn’t like the way the KERI team group took over the initiative to design a KERI foundation.
The feeling of being surpassed without being heard is not a nice one. The European group may not have noticed that donation-based funding has been on the agenda of the KERI team for quite a while. What follows is a historical perspective on the communication.
Blockchainbird made its first donation to KERI development via GitHub in 2020. The KERI team wasn’t involved in the Swiss initiative, so we tried to unify both initiatives when we heard of it. We’re happy that this effort was received well.
When the first meeting was planned just after DICE 2024 by a European group that did not frequent the weekly KERI Zoom meetings of WebofTrust or TrustoverIP, the inventor of KERI clearly stated at this first meeting that the initiative to set up a KERI foundation is for those who put real money on the table.
You could argue about the talents and abilities needed to get KERI adopted by large companies and organizations, but here’s a significant fact:
KERI’s tooling hasn’t matured yet (status 2024), so selling it to larger companies makes no sense. The implementation will diverge from the reference implementation, which still needs to be completed, and the customers will abandon it with an incompatible codebase that must be maintained in an isolated manner.
We consider KERI’s inventor a hard-working multi-talent and should be supported in what he thinks it takes to keep KERI healthy and what the next steps in this process are: open-source foundations set up with the inventor’s blessing have been far more successful in the past than those that bypassed the inventor.
To confirm, the feeling of being surpassed without being heard is unfortunate. As this elaborate answer explains, we believe the experience is mutual. To work together, the KERI team has taken the lead because Blockchainbird (the donation vehicle of Henk van Cann) committed to initially donating 100K US$ to set up a foundation with the design principles mentioned here.
We’re keeping the leadership team small. Moreover, we don’t think that we make it complex. On the contrary, we avoid organizational complexity and focus on accelerating the urgently required development processes.
With the confirmed support for this setup by KERI’s inventor, we are ready to go and can focus on finishing the job (5Ws) starting today.
Please, do not to mix complexity with elaboration in details. It’s true we have a thoughtful and comprehensive setup.