On 'scaling up' and being the right size

The story of scaling up and being the right size draws from various fields, including evolutionary biology, urban planning, and organizational theory. One of the key figures in this discussion is J.B.S. Haldane, who explores the physical constraints of size in his essay On Being the Right Size. Haldane argues that there are inherent limitations to how large certain organisms can become due to factors like gravity, the relation between volume and surface area, and the need for efficient oxygen exchange.

These constraints are not just relevant to biology, but also to the organizational scale of projects, platforms, and communities. When considering scaling a project or community, it becomes evident that growth inevitably leads to changes in organizational norms and structures. These changes often involve sacrificing some elements of the initial design, as what works for a smaller system may not be sustainable or viable at a larger scale.

Haldane's ideas were taken up by urban planners and theorists like Jane Jacobs, who applied his principles to larger social and institutional contexts. Jacobs discussed the limitations of scaling in her Massey Lectures, recognizing that while larger institutions can achieve certain goals, they also face increased complexity and potential stifling effects.

Christopher Alexander further expanded on Haldane's principle in his work on pattern languages, emphasizing how the number of relationships within a group grows exponentially with increasing size, leading to greater complexity and hierarchy. In the context of today's digital communities, the question of whether platforms like Mastodon can become the next Twitter or Codeberg can become the next GitHub is misguided.

Instead, the focus should be on understanding the costs associated with scaling and the potential trade-offs in terms of complexity and hierarchy. Centralized structures may offer economies of scale for some applications, but they may not be the most effective solution for every situation. Ultimately, the key takeaway is that scaling up is not always desirable or achievable without significant adaptations to the underlying organizational norms and structures.