The bmannconsulting.com website
bmann.ca
1---
2aliases:
3 - Benevolent Dictator For Life
4tags:
5 - management
6 - opensource
7---
8Benevolent Dictator For Life
9
10> It originated in the Python community and is now generally used to describe the condition of an open-source leader who may find themselves saddled with more, and longer-term, expectations of selfless (bordering on martyrdom) leadership than they may want.
11> — [[Venkatesh Rao]], [BDFx-ing](https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2024/02/07/bdfxing-or-post-charismatic-distributed-leadership/)
12
13## Wikipedia
14
15> **Benevolent dictator for life** (**BDFL**) is a title given to a small number of open-source software development leaders, typically project founders who retain the final say in disputes or arguments within the community. The phrase originated in 1995 with reference to [Guido van Rossum](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_van_Rossum "Guido van Rossum"), creator of the Python programming language.
16
17I wanted to capture this snippet because it links to [[ESR]]'s post. From my POV, I've only ever known it as BDFL.
18
19> BDFL should not be confused with the more common term for open-source leaders, "benevolent dictator", which was popularized by [Eric S. Raymond](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_S._Raymond "Eric S. Raymond")'s essay "[Homesteading the Noosphere](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homesteading_the_Noosphere "Homesteading the Noosphere")" (1999)
20
21[BDFL on Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benevolent_dictator_for_life)