Having invested a lot of my time into TW I think it fair to ask “What happens IF …” ???
Modern tech is interesting socially in that it is rarely explicit to legacy.
TW is different in that it could live a long time.
BUT maybe that should be more explicit on the “how”?
Gooday, TT
It’s a valid (though a tad morbid) question. Perhaps the man himself might air his thoughts? Would be good to know how he’d like his legacy (and future plans) to be maintained.
<morbid mode=off />
But he survived Covid… I think he’ll be around a good while yet.
When I was working for big corporates, I was amused that the Human Resources department were very careful when discussing contingency planning to talk of “winning the lottery” rather than “snuffing it”. But it’s a legitimate concern for people concerned with their own investment in the project.
There are nuts and bolts considerations like access to my GitHub account, and TiddlyWiki’s Twitter account. I think we’re in a good position on that.
But at a wider level, I think the TiddlyWiki project would do just fine without me. That’s mainly because I think it has gained a critical mass where it is plausible that for a few years/decades there will be people around who are motivated to improve it.
My own general experience is that personnel changes/additions can often be good for teams, communities or even families. The arrival of new people brings new influences and perspectives. We think we don’t want to see the departure of people but it inevitably changes the landscape and gives opportunities to new people.
I do not know whether this is a German IT-euphemism or whether this is used elsewhere: An enterprise totally relying on one person is said to have “bus-factor:1” meaning if the central person is hit by a bus the whole enterprise is lost.
I do not think this would be the case … but
Best wishes for Jeremy
Lol! this is just a fun comment.
That kind of idiom turns up in English too, often, prior to computers, about decorum …
… make sure you wear clean underwear, when you go out, in case you get hit by a bus …
TT
In the insurance industry, some companies will purchase special contingency policies for their most important personnel (board of directors, senior management, etc.). These policies are generally referred to as “key person insurance”, and are meant to carry the company through the critical transition period if those persons should suddenly die or otherwise become incapacitated. It is sometimes referred to as “bus insurance”.
Bus-Factor even has a wikipedia-entry with a chapter on how to augment the bus-factor.
Parallel there seems to be the term “Truck Factor” that seems to be calculated differently.
I would say, the bus-factor is quite tense for some important plugins which are sometimes also important for people.
Ciao @JanJo
Since you seem interested in the BUS idioms.
FYI, they partly get their power in computer lingo now because of a very long prior metaphorical history in English speaking countries.
One of my favourites is: “Busman’s Holiday.”
A lot of what we do here is a “Busman’s Holiday” !
TT
Twice I’ve worked for companies where the owners were a partnership, each taking out contingency insurance against the possibility the other might step in front of the proverbial bus.
I must add here loosing any contributor would be a loss but Jeremys design approach and all who have contibuted to this open source, even source readable nature of tiddlywiki puts it in good stead for the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
As I said before tiddlywiki is the software i would want on a desert island, in part because of the above.
We would not be stuffed if we lost Jeremy because of what Jeremy has already done, but we would be very sad 
There may be a case for “Desert Island TiddlyWikis”, riffing-off “Desert Island Discs” … …
TT, x
How very Shakespearean … (Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1.)
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
Your take is interesting!
What I like a lot in your comments is their frequent dramaturgy.
Best, TT
I’m confident TiddlyWiki would continue to live on, there are a lot of people who are interested in the project to maintain development momentum. It’s been discussed in a number of topics, but I actually think it’s a sign of maturity for a project / group to become less reliant on a single individual for direction. The more we can do to lessen the load on Jeremy, the better.
– TT