Technically speaking, flakes address problems with distributing Nix-based software projects: hermetic evaluation, managing dependencies on remote sources, and a standard interface for consumers, all shipped as batteries included.

Sounds simple enough. Yet, the introduction of flakes became a source of internet drama – and 7 years later, flakes are still experimental. This talk traces how we got into a controversy that was never quite resolved, and makes the case that it was never really about flakes.

My goal is to highlight what I suspect is an underlying failure of communication, and to serve a healthy dose of unsolicited opinion on how we can do better in the future.