[softwaredoug]

"Strict and stable" isn't quite the important feature, its being community-managed. Chaotic projects with lots of forks, and disorganized governance may be a sign that there is a strong community. If the chaos goes on forever, then you're going to probably lose people to the drama (or the forks themselves will eventually stabilize). If the chaos is short, spasmatic, and leads to a better outcome, then it was overall a good thing in the project's governance.