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47 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
47 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
# An Overdue Apology
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*January 2023*
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Dear Python friends,
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I hope this blog post can serve as an official response to [*Why I’m Not Collaborating with Kenneth Reitz*](https://vorpus.org/blog/why-im-not-collaborating-with-kenneth-reitz/).
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I owe you an apology. Reflecting on the [Requests III](https://github.com/kennethreitz-archive/requests3) fundraiser from years past, I realize the importance of transparency — a virtue I regrettably overlooked.<label for="sn-fundraiser-context" class="margin-toggle sidenote-number"></label><input type="checkbox" id="sn-fundraiser-context" class="margin-toggle"/><span class="sidenote">The Requests III fundraiser raised significant community funds for developing an async-capable version of the popular HTTP library, but faced challenges around communication and delivery timelines.</span> From chaos comes clarity, and I see now that I should have handled things in a different manner.
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Perhaps you're curious about the fate of Requests III. My aim was to craft a product of exceptional quality, and initially, everything seemed promising. However, as I delved deeper into integrating H2 support, it became apparent that the dependencies I was relying on—or considering for use—simply didn't meet the necessary standards. A key factor behind the success of Requests has always been its thoughtful design.<label for="sn-requests-philosophy" class="margin-toggle sidenote-number"></label><input type="checkbox" id="sn-requests-philosophy" class="margin-toggle"/><span class="sidenote">Requests became Python's most downloaded package by prioritizing developer experience with its "HTTP for Humans" philosophy, making complex HTTP operations simple and intuitive.</span> Yet, the asynchronous landscape within Python's ecosystem failed to meet my expectations, leading me to conclude that Requests should retain its synchronous nature and I (again, quietly) licensed the codebase [**CC0**](https://github.com/kennethreitz-archive/requests3/blob/master/LICENSE).
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I sincerely hope that we can continue to work together towards a common goal, to help make the world a little bit of a better place — through our code, our thoughts, and our actions.
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# Questions & Answers
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Please submit questions [via email](mailto:me@kennethreitz.org) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kennethreitz42).
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Much Love,
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Kenneth Reitz
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## What work was done on Requests III by you?
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* Adding type annotations to all public interfaces within the library.
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* Refactoring all the namespaces, to be much more declarative.
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* Adapting the existing architecture to be compatible with an asynchronous programming model.
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* Testing different async systems, deciding which one to "vet" for general usage by the masses.
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* Collecting community feedback, pain points, and desired changes.
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* Designing the primary "requests3\.core" API, which the rest of requests3 sits upon.
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* Orchestrating with the rest of the Python ecosystem, and attempting to find a suitable solution for the asynchronous low\-level requirements.
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* Some very, very nasty merge conflict resolution :)
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# What was left to do?
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* Integration with a low\-level HTTP library ready for the task.
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* Product documentation (the hardest part).
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* Beta \& Release
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I ultimately decided (again, not transparently) that supporting async fully was not feasible, as I could not find anyone capable or willing to work on the project with me. The psychological weight of getting everything perfect was also just too much.<label for="sn-perfectionism" class="margin-toggle sidenote-number"></label><input type="checkbox" id="sn-perfectionism" class="margin-toggle"/><span class="sidenote">This acknowledgment of perfectionism and psychological pressure reflects common challenges faced by open source maintainers, particularly those stewarding widely-used libraries with millions of dependents.</span>
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I’m sorry I didn’t finish this project without taking the time to be transparent.
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