Peter Zhu
@peterzhu.ca
Staff Developer at Figma.
Ruby core committer.
Photography geek.
Mastodon: @[email protected]
Instagram: @peterzhu.photos
Ruby core committer.
Photography geek.
Mastodon: @[email protected]
Instagram: @peterzhu.photos
I think one of the weaknesses of Ruby is the documentation. Just like how the Rails Foundation's job is to improve documentation and promote Rails, we need an organization to improve the documentation and guides in Ruby, and improve SEO and usability of docs.ruby-lang.org.
October 25, 2025 at 3:02 PM
I think one of the weaknesses of Ruby is the documentation. Just like how the Rails Foundation's job is to improve documentation and promote Rails, we need an organization to improve the documentation and guides in Ruby, and improve SEO and usability of docs.ruby-lang.org.
Yes, Shopify is definitely donating much more than $2,500/year. However, $2,500 is the minimum to be listed on the website, so it suggests that there are only two organizations providing above that amount.
October 22, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Yes, Shopify is definitely donating much more than $2,500/year. However, $2,500 is the minimum to be listed on the website, so it suggests that there are only two organizations providing above that amount.
As I've stated in my blog post, governance isn't the issue here. It's the lack of companies that are willing to put engineers in OSS. When we know which companies these are, then maybe we can start discussing governance.
October 20, 2025 at 2:55 PM
As I've stated in my blog post, governance isn't the issue here. It's the lack of companies that are willing to put engineers in OSS. When we know which companies these are, then maybe we can start discussing governance.
This is what my blog post is about. It's so heavily Shopify employees because no companies (with the exception of a few Japanese ones) will invest engineers in Ruby. If it's not Shopify, then who?
October 20, 2025 at 2:54 PM
This is what my blog post is about. It's so heavily Shopify employees because no companies (with the exception of a few Japanese ones) will invest engineers in Ruby. If it's not Shopify, then who?
The development is about as in the open as it can be, but that doesn't mean the tickets tell you exactly what to do. If you knew how ZJIT works, the tickets contain all the information needed. The source code is there and there are blog posts and design docs, just read it.
October 20, 2025 at 2:51 PM
The development is about as in the open as it can be, but that doesn't mean the tickets tell you exactly what to do. If you knew how ZJIT works, the tickets contain all the information needed. The source code is there and there are blog posts and design docs, just read it.
I'm not sure I agree that BDFL is always bad. Imagine if we abolished BDFL and instead used a committee of Ruby core, then Shopify will have >50% of the votes. They can unilaterally accept or reject anything. Is that the optimal outcome?
October 20, 2025 at 1:51 PM
I'm not sure I agree that BDFL is always bad. Imagine if we abolished BDFL and instead used a committee of Ruby core, then Shopify will have >50% of the votes. They can unilaterally accept or reject anything. Is that the optimal outcome?
Dev meeting agenda requires public proposal at least a few days in advance with a ticket for each item. This is public and open for feedback from anyone. bugs.ruby-lang.org/projects/rub...
We make sure the whole process is as transparent as possible with discussions and decisions in the open.
We make sure the whole process is as transparent as possible with discussions and decisions in the open.
DevMeeting - Ruby - Ruby Issue Tracking System
Redmine
bugs.ruby-lang.org
October 20, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Dev meeting agenda requires public proposal at least a few days in advance with a ticket for each item. This is public and open for feedback from anyone. bugs.ruby-lang.org/projects/rub...
We make sure the whole process is as transparent as possible with discussions and decisions in the open.
We make sure the whole process is as transparent as possible with discussions and decisions in the open.
The major decisions for the language are made in the monthly developer meetings within the Ruby core team. While the meetings are not public, the meeting notes are: github.com/ruby/dev-mee....
GitHub - ruby/dev-meeting-log: Log archive for monthly Developers Meeting
Log archive for monthly Developers Meeting. Contribute to ruby/dev-meeting-log development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
October 20, 2025 at 1:44 PM
The major decisions for the language are made in the monthly developer meetings within the Ruby core team. While the meetings are not public, the meeting notes are: github.com/ruby/dev-mee....
Your disagreement seems to be with one specific organization. The community is large so let's not generalize it like that. There are so many things to be optimistic about in the Ruby ecosystem, from many YC startups using RoR, to new features in Ruby & Rails, to a vibrant community.
October 20, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Your disagreement seems to be with one specific organization. The community is large so let's not generalize it like that. There are so many things to be optimistic about in the Ruby ecosystem, from many YC startups using RoR, to new features in Ruby & Rails, to a vibrant community.
I'm not asking for smaller shops to contribute, but the big players should do much more. I contribute 10-20 hours/week to Ruby in my own time and I do it because I love this language, I love this community, and I love solving real problems.
October 20, 2025 at 2:08 AM
I'm not asking for smaller shops to contribute, but the big players should do much more. I contribute 10-20 hours/week to Ruby in my own time and I do it because I love this language, I love this community, and I love solving real problems.
Why do we need a Ruby foundation? As a member of the Ruby core team, we don't need red tape. Our decisions are made democratically in the core team. However, a BDFL with vision for the language is important coherency. Individual changes to the language could make sense, but not make sense in total.
October 20, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Why do we need a Ruby foundation? As a member of the Ruby core team, we don't need red tape. Our decisions are made democratically in the core team. However, a BDFL with vision for the language is important coherency. Individual changes to the language could make sense, but not make sense in total.
While DHH is the most vocal, I want to emphasize that Rails is so much more than DHH. The core team is driven by 12 amazing people, most of which I know personally and can vouch for. We should be optimistic that the future of Rails in the hands of these people. rubyonrails.org/community
Ruby on Rails Community
Rails improves every year thanks to hundreds of contributors. Meet the Core, Committers, and Issues team and learn how you can also make Rails better.
rubyonrails.org
October 20, 2025 at 1:58 AM
While DHH is the most vocal, I want to emphasize that Rails is so much more than DHH. The core team is driven by 12 amazing people, most of which I know personally and can vouch for. We should be optimistic that the future of Rails in the hands of these people. rubyonrails.org/community
People come and go. It's always sad to see people go but also exciting to see new Rubyists. But for many that have left the community, it's because of new opportunities rather than a governance issue. After all, open source is about less governance, less red tape, and more freedoms.
October 20, 2025 at 1:55 AM
People come and go. It's always sad to see people go but also exciting to see new Rubyists. But for many that have left the community, it's because of new opportunities rather than a governance issue. After all, open source is about less governance, less red tape, and more freedoms.
Sure, maybe you don't use all of these things, and that's fine. But the performance and stability improvements in Ruby come for free for everyone that upgrades. These improvements help your Rails app run faster, save money, and deliver better UX for users of your app.
October 20, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Sure, maybe you don't use all of these things, and that's fine. But the performance and stability improvements in Ruby come for free for everyone that upgrades. These improvements help your Rails app run faster, save money, and deliver better UX for users of your app.
This isn't true generally. It might be semi-true for things actively being worked on (e.g. ZJIT, Modular GC) but that's because it's moving at a high velocity that's hard to coordinate with non-employees. However, projects that are more stable (e.g. VWA, Prism, YJIT) are very open to contributors.
October 19, 2025 at 2:17 PM
This isn't true generally. It might be semi-true for things actively being worked on (e.g. ZJIT, Modular GC) but that's because it's moving at a high velocity that's hard to coordinate with non-employees. However, projects that are more stable (e.g. VWA, Prism, YJIT) are very open to contributors.
I would like to see evidence of "sucking up money"? Sure, there could be more transparency. However, the management chain is fairly lean. You can see they hire 7 staff members (paid by RC) and 6 directors (not paid by RC). rubycentral.org/about/
About Us
Our Vision
We are a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing the Ruby programming language and a welcoming and diverse worldwide Ruby community. We create spaces and events, onli...
rubycentral.org
October 19, 2025 at 2:10 PM
I would like to see evidence of "sucking up money"? Sure, there could be more transparency. However, the management chain is fairly lean. You can see they hire 7 staff members (paid by RC) and 6 directors (not paid by RC). rubycentral.org/about/
That's not true. In fact, RailsConf this year got far more sponsors than RC. There were 3 x $50k, 1 x $35k, 2 x $25k sponsors. railsconf.org/sponsors/
Sponsors
RailsConf 2025 is the world’s largest gathering of Rails developers, brought together to further discussion and learning about building, managing, and testing Rails applications. With a specific focus...
railsconf.org
October 19, 2025 at 2:01 PM
That's not true. In fact, RailsConf this year got far more sponsors than RC. There were 3 x $50k, 1 x $35k, 2 x $25k sponsors. railsconf.org/sponsors/
Also, should we think of confs as money makers or as an investment for the community? I think of them as the latter. Of course, it's important to be responsible with the money. Confs should be a place of discourse, learn new things, build connections, and get hyped. (2/2)
October 19, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Also, should we think of confs as money makers or as an investment for the community? I think of them as the latter. Of course, it's important to be responsible with the money. Confs should be a place of discourse, learn new things, build connections, and get hyped. (2/2)
From what I know, RC's confs have been roughly breaking even in the last year or two, so far from "spending money without any accountability." I would argue that the confs are essential to the Ruby ecosystem, as it (was) the only Rails conf in US and is still the only major Ruby conf in US. (1/2)
October 19, 2025 at 12:37 AM
From what I know, RC's confs have been roughly breaking even in the last year or two, so far from "spending money without any accountability." I would argue that the confs are essential to the Ruby ecosystem, as it (was) the only Rails conf in US and is still the only major Ruby conf in US. (1/2)
Still in the Ruby community! Will be upgraded to a user of Ruby at my job but I’ll still be working on Ruby in my spare time.
September 21, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Still in the Ruby community! Will be upgraded to a user of Ruby at my job but I’ll still be working on Ruby in my spare time.