Aren’t we already advertising nightlies? At least that is what one could logically assume from the big message one is greeted with upon attempt to download the “latest” alpha. I can see having it around as a milestone comparison. But to greet new users and devs by sending them to a download page that essentially says whoops, this really isn’t the download page you probably want, but we’re going to offer this outdated version first before sending you to the download page that you’ll find more interesting and relevant? Is this what we want as a first impression? The nightlies are the closest thing we have to a stable, AND relevant release. I don’t see this in contradiction to the “we need a stable platform to attract devs and users” idea.
And don’t take wrong what I said about taking on new devs. I was trying to point out that a “when it rains it pours” scenario could lead to negative issues not immediately apparent. We definitely need more devs. But be careful what we wish for at the same time. A mass exodus from Linux could occur tomorrow. In that event, I could foresee R1 occurring next week and in a month Haiku could resemble some jumbled mess of APIs and UI and be renamed Lin-coup. I’m not excited about that possibility. 