[r6rs-discuss] to the Steering Committee: from Editors to Observers

From: Matthias Felleisen <matthias>
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2007 12:15:10 -0400

The authors of the Scheme report, the language implementors, and the
language users make up a feedback loop. Unfortunately, the process is
extremely informal and ad hoc, with the common result that we have no
true institutional memory.

Proposal: I therefore propose to move from an Editor system to an
Observer system after/if the proposed Report is ratified. The
Observer board/committee should include implementors and users of
R6RS Scheme systems. The members should document problem reports with
the specification. It could also be useful if it were empowered to
write essay-style SRFIs in response to common and widely observed
problems.

Rationale: Like all preceding reports, R6RS can't be perfect. If any
of the previous ones had been perfect, there wouldn't have been a
need for successor reports with removals, improvements and additions
of features. We all know that R6RS isn't perfect either. A formal
Observer committee/board would help collect facts about
implementation and usage problems, especially for those people who
target the same program to several Scheme systems. When the time is
ripe for R7RS, some of these Observers would become Editors and bring
in the collected experience into the process.

-- Matthias
Received on Thu Jun 07 2007 - 12:15:10 UTC