new DIP41: dmd/rdmd command line overhaul.

[Zach the Mystic]

On Thursday, 23 May 2013 at 18:50:12 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:
> I agree that there are many D users who do not hang out here, 
> who sometimes surface and argue that they weren't informed 
> about something. We have to consider their interests, too.

Could a list of users be assembled who would be emailed directly 
when serious decisions require the input of the widest possible 
user base? Would that be a reliable way to maintain good 
communications? The idea would be to spare them the effort of 
keeping up to date on the busy newsgroups.

I feel bad about the stability versus innovation issue. I'm no 
expert in communications, but it would be great to discover that 
effective communications could solve problems that hacking 
wizardry alone could not. It might be too idealistic to imagine 
that the community will ever be one big happy family, rallying 
around important breaking changes for the sake great language 
design. But I don't think it's a Wild West, everyone for himself, 
kind of deal either. It even seems like the kind of issue where 
it's not so much about solid language design as it is about 
managing people's expectations and the process of change.

Until, that is, the day when D is so mainstream that it's being 
used by all sorts of rabble and vermin, who just can't take 
change the same way. But hasn't someone brought up the fact that 
PHP changed a value type to a reference type even in its very 
mature state? I don't know the details of that, but if it's true, 
then I think D seriously needs someone from PHP's public 
relations committee to jump that ship and board this one. :-)

And feel free to take my opinions with a grain of salt. I want D 
to succeed, but I wouldn't consider myself a serious trench 
soldier here, as you know.