"Option 1 would keep the competition alive, but now you have 2 groups of people trying to do the same thing and being better at different aspects. The community gets confused and communication breaks."<p>The community gets confused? Give us more credit than that. We're not helpless babes in the woods. We're faced with making implementation decisions every day. Which language? Which database? Which framework? Which http server? Which hosting provider? Which linux distro? And, soon, which Ruby VM to use? And you know what? Somehow... somehow, we get by. We evaluate our choices (being glad that there are choices), and we make decisions. Can anyone out there honestly tell me that they wish there were no choices to make? Granted, too many choices can be a bad thing, but that's not what we're talking about here.<p>Perhaps the whole merging thing isn't a bad idea in some respects, but p-l-e-a-s-e stop trying to convince people that competition is bad. If you really believe that, then start a lobbying group to get nginx, apache, and lighttpd to merge. And let's not stop there, let's eliminate all duplication of effort -- at the operating system, database, programming language, and application levels. If you're going to make that argument, then take it to its logical conclusion.<p>The one solid argument made in the article is the point about having a bigger core team -- that's always a good thing -- especially at a time when we're just barely dipping our toes in the water of what is sure to be an ocean of economic upheaval.<p>One question I have: will Rails 3.0 break existing Rails app <i>and</i> break existing Merb apps? If so, then there's room for a new player to come along. Web-based frameworks are in their infancy and modularity isn't the end-all-and-beat-all. Something new and different will emerge. At it will be a compelling alternative to Rails 4. And that will be a good thing. Until, of course, the Rails team convinces that small group of radicals that choice isn't what people want. And when that happens, you can expect me back here, like a broken record, making the same arguments. :-)