On Sun, Nov 16, 2025, at 07:56, Edmond Dantes wrote:
> Hello
[snip]
> I don’t know what to do about a situation where PHP developers are
> surprised to learn that their language has supported transparent
> asynchrony as a core paradigm for several years already.
> And instead of discussing the important details of the RFC, all the
> effort goes into “basic questions” that aren’t worth discussing at
> all.
>
> It would be wonderful if there were a dedicated person whom everyone
> would listen to carefully and who could explain the basic questions
> privately. Most likely, this approach would solve many problems.
You are that person in this context.
RFC authors are the subject-matter experts for their proposals, and the way the process succeeds is
by the author being willing to explain, restate, clarify, and anchor concepts for people coming from
different backgrounds and different levels of familiarity. That sometimes means answering questions
that feel “basic”, or repeating an explanation with more context, or linking back to previous
messages so readers can follow the chain of reasoning.
Speaking personally: I’ve put several hours into each of my responses because I want the RFC to
succeed, and I think many others on the list are doing the same. When people ask questions or point
out tension between claims, it’s not to nitpick: it’s because the RFC makes several strong
promises, and people want to understand the implications for their frameworks, their libraries, and
their day-to-day work.
That’s exactly what the “C” in RFC is for.
If something has been explained earlier, linking to that explanation is extremely helpful. If
something hasn’t been explained yet, then the question isn’t trivial, it’s a signal that the
document might need clearer wording so that future readers won’t have the same confusion. It’s
like a bug report: just because one user reported the bug doesn’t mean only one person is
suffering from it.
Everyone here is trying to understand the proposal on its own terms. Clear, patient communication
from the author is what makes that possible.
— Rob