Swan Song

Well, I don't really know where to begin. Finally, and somewhat unexpectedly, there is an end to the tunnel entitled “Chairman of the Python Software Foundation.” When I stood for election to the board this year my manifesto included a declaration that by the same time next year I would no longer  be chairman. The board at my request asked for nominations for a Vice Chairman to prepare to take over from me at a planned point in the future.

As the inauguration of the new board coincides with the unfortunate necessity of consulting orthopedic surgeons I am availing myself of the non-profit equivalent of the "get out of jail free" card, and handing over to the new chairman Van Lindberg (currently Vice Chairman, and the careful steward of PyCon in 2010 and 2011), somewhat earlier than originally anticipated. This will allow me time to rest and discover what comes next. Fortunately I don't anticipate any real problems, but it is good to have a Chairman waiting in the wings, supported by a Board that will continue to take capable care of business while I pay attention to other things. I know that the whole Python community will be behind them.

To those who wish to email me about PSF matters, please continue to do so if you don't know who else to contact (hint: our administrator and secretary Pat Campbell stands ready to help at all times). I will continue to try and ensure that all mail reaches an appropriate (i.e. not /dev/null) destination. Please do all you can to help the new chairman and board to help you. I am sure that the Foundation will under their leadership continue to move from strength to strength, reinforcing its mission of promoting the Python language and encouraging the growth of the international Python community. I remain on the board for the remainder of my elected term, and look forward to helping the new team strengthen the ties we have forged with the widest possible Python community.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you. Good luck, Van, and over to you.

Google Groups Plus

OK, I have tired of having ideas that I never get around to implementing, so I am going to take a page out of Seth Godin's book and just write this thing up so somebody with more time and inclination can get rich from doing it. Or at least provide a service to people who could use it.

It's time that Google Groups (or at least some of them) were available via NNTP. Sure, I can use the somewhat quirky and always less than satisfactory web interface that Google provide. Or I could set the groups I am interested in to deliver the posts via email. But an NNTP client would just be so much more convenient and usable. So what we need is a system that scrapes Google Groups and offers NNTP access to the resulting content.

There is, of course, the minor issue of Google's terms of service. The most significant part says:

Google authorizes you to view and download a single copy of the Materials solely for your personal, non-commercial use. You may not sell or modify the Materials or reproduce, display, publicly perform, distribute, or otherwise use the Materials in any way for any public or commercial purpose without the written permission of Google. Special rules may apply to the use of certain software and other items provided via the Services, and are noted where appropriate.

If you would like information about obtaining Google's permission to use any of the Materials on your Web site, please send an e-mail to groups-support@google.com.

So we will have to persuade Google not to be evil - I imagine they will be upset not to be able to insert advertising in the stream, but if they did that wouldn't be Usenet, now would it? I would hope Google would be mindful of how they came by the archival content that started this venture in determining how to license the materials.

I know there are people in the Python world who could put this together in under a week.

While I am dealing in quirky ideas, here's another one, in this case to monitor (and hopefully control) spending on government credit cards. Could this work?

World Plone Day? Communicate, Dammit!

So just now, somewhat after midday Eastern Time, I discover that today is World Plone Day.

Forgive me for saying so, but as Python Software Foundation chairman I should have expected to hear about this event a little in advance. I would even have welcomed the opportunity to lend PSF resources towards publicizing it, seeing as how Plone is one of Python's showcase applications. Alas apparently nobody thought to try and use the PSF as a channel. So I hope World Plone Day goes well this year, and that it doesn't pass everybody else by as it did me.

For the record, the PSF runs its own blog, whose articles are well-syndicated on the web, and we are also usually happy to put Python-related events as front-page news on the python.org web site.

If you are running some newsworthy event, mail the webmasters (if you aren't savvy enough to work out the correct email address, webmaster at python dot org should get you there) to avail yourselves of the opportunity! However can we achieve world domination if we continually hide Python's light under a bushel?

The Media We Deserve?

Many thanks to Patrick Logan for bringing this New York Times article to my attention. It highlights the fact that the "military analysts" used (and paid!) by the major networks often appear to have business dealings and Pentagon relationships that cause blatant conflicts of interest with their independence as analysts.

My favorite quote shows that the networks feel they have something to hide, and in particular just exactly how "fair and balanced" Fox News wants to be:

CBS News declined to comment on what it knew about its military analysts’ business affiliations or what steps it took to guard against potential conflicts.

NBC News also declined to discuss its procedures for hiring and monitoring military analysts. The network issued a short statement: “We have clear policies in place to assure that the people who appear on our air have been appropriately vetted and that nothing in their profile would lead to even a perception of a conflict of interest.”

Jeffrey W. Schneider, a spokesman for ABC, said that while the network’s military consultants were not held to the same ethical rules as its full-time journalists, they were expected to keep the network informed about any outside business entanglements. “We make it clear to them we expect them to keep us closely apprised,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Fox News said executives “refused to participate” in this article.

CNN requires its military analysts to disclose in writing all outside sources of income. But like the other networks, it does not provide its military analysts with the kind of written, specific ethical guidelines it gives its full-time employees for avoiding real or apparent conflicts of interest.

Nothing like shutting up when you have something to hide. You can almost hear the ranks closing.

Python 3.0 First Alpha Build Available

Guido has just announced the availability of a public alpha of Python 3.0.

Please remember there are several things this does not mean:

• Python 2.x is not obsolete. The series will continue through 2.6 (which will include backports of many Python 3 features) and probably 2.7. In fact the only guarantee is that there will be no releases after 2.9.x, as Guido has stated his dislike of the ambiguities inherent in a 2.10 release number.
• Python 3 is not ready for production work. The alpha series is expected to last a considerable length of time, and even when Python 3 comes into production (in around a year from now if Guido's original schedule is maintained) 2.6 will be the major platform.
• There should be no need to develop parallel source trees for your Python code. The 2.6 translator will have a "Python 3 warnings" mode, and if you ensure that this doesn't produce warnings you will be able to convert your code to Python 3 automatically using a conversion tool.

For a summary of other things you might like to know about Python 3 see Guido's blog.