Benevolent
Dictator for Life
The
Benevolent Dictator for Life (BDFL)
is the informal, slightly tongue-in-cheek title given to an individual in the
open source development
community who is respected, sets general directions, and makes final calls in
certain decisions within the scope of a given project. The BDFL is a tacit acknowledgement
that communal, consensus-based decision-making within such groups occasionally
runs up against obstacles for which a single authorative voice can be useful.
That BDFLs survive and flourish in such otherwise
anarchistic
contexts is attributed to their personal charisma and their reticence to wield
their power except in rare moments.
List
of Benevolent Dictators for Life
