RustConf is always a good time for reflecting on the project. For me, the last week has been particularly “reflective”. Since announcing the Rustacean Principles, I’ve been having a number of conversations with members of the community about how they can be improved. I wanted to write a post summarizing some of the feedback I’ve gotten.

The principles are a work-in-progress

Sparking conversation about the principles was exactly what I was hoping for when I posted the previous blog post. The principles have mostly been the product of Josh and I iterating, and hence reflect our experiences. While the two of us have been involved in quite a few parts of the project, for the document to truly serve its purpose, it needs input from the community as a whole.

As the web site says, Rust is a language empowering everyone to build reliable and efficient software. I think it’s precisely this feeling of empowerment that people love about Rust. As wycats put it recently to me, Rust makes it “feel like things are possible that otherwise feel out of reach”. But what exactly makes Rust feel that way? If we can describe it, then we can use that description to help us improve Rust, and to guide us as we design extensions to Rust.