php-rfcs

This repository is an experiment to test whether PHP's proposal process could work better on GitHub. Normally, new ideas for PHP go through a formal RFC (Request for Comments) process on the official PHP website, where people discuss changes in forums and vote on whether to adopt them. This project explores moving that discussion to GitHub instead, where proposals would be submitted as pull requests that anyone can comment on inline—like leaving notes directly next to the code or text you're reviewing.

The way it works is straightforward: someone writes up their RFC idea and opens a pull request against this repository. Other developers can then read it and leave comments on specific parts they agree or disagree with. If the community decides the proposal is good, the pull request gets merged, signaling that the RFC was accepted. This approach lets people have more focused, threaded conversations about proposed changes compared to traditional forum discussions.

The main benefit is better organization and visibility. GitHub's interface makes it easier to track what's been discussed, who said what, and why certain decisions were made. It also centralizes everything in one place rather than scattering comments across multiple pages on different websites.

However, it's important to note that this is explicitly labeled as a one-off experiment. The creator acknowledges that the PHP community would need to have a separate conversation about whether they actually want to adopt this workflow long-term. The repository may be abandoned, and pull requests aren't currently being accepted. So while the idea is interesting for developers interested in how open-source governance could evolve, it's not an active or official PHP project yet.