That joke
As somewhat known to some but lost in a decade since, the joke was originally made to crudely point out the apparent lack of interest in figuring out a better packaging and installation story for some Python users who were not part of the Python core team at the time. In my recollection (which is likely flawed), a lack of authority was seen, so it had to be developed, to be a project home for people interested in Python packaging.
It’s not without irony that a) the joke wasn’t that great though and had to be explained numerous times and often resulted in only little excitement from the person asking, given the lack of a punch line, but more importantly b) the “authority” over time actually gained the structure and experience and people, that it so naively lacked when it started. Obviously that’s all because of the tremendous work everyone has done, in- AND outside this group, to evolve what was there and help Python users install and manage software easier.
In hindsight it’s maybe not the joke that needs reflection, but instead all the progress that has been made in its name since then, and that the way it was achieved was not ideal, non-obvious and often boringly niche. But if that’s not what a great Open Source backstory is, then I don’t know what is.
So here’s to the PyPA, may it continue to struggle to find its purpose in the future!
Now about that distant sister project…