On the SitePoint PHP blog Larry Garfield, a member of the PHP-FIG group, has written up an article covering the past, present and future of the PHP-FIG. In it he tries to give readers a perspective on where the group came from, some of the growth they've seen along the way and, finally, the proposal for PHP-FIG 3.0 - a restructuring of the organization based on things they've learned so far.

The PHP Framework Interoperability Group (PHP-FIG, or just FIG for short) is at a crossroads. Many electrons have been sacrificed talking about FIG’s tribulations of late, but sadly much of it has been FUD, with little effort spent on the positive. At SitePoint’s invitation, I’d like to offer a more positive outlook on FIG and the PHP community, and demonstrate why FIG can, and should, continue to have a positive impact on the PHP ecosystem.

He starts with where the group began (an "uncomfortable beginning") at php[tek] 2015 and the proposal/passing of the PSR-0 autoloading specification soon after. He then gets into the "slow but steady growth" the group had over the next several years and some of the groups that became involved (not just framework projects either). He covers some of the other PSRs created/passed, the impact they've made on the community and the growing pains they've gone through. He ends the post talking about the PHP-FIG 3.0 proposal and some of the support, opposition and discussion that has come along with that.

On the SitePoint PHP blog Deji Akala has written up a post talking about the PHP-FIG - some if its history and its current role in the community.

The Polish writer, Henryk Sienkiewicz, was awarded the 1905 Nobel prize for Literature for his epic novel Quo Vadis, which is a Latin phrase meaning “Where are you going?”. In the face of any dilemma, a brief pause and redefinition of one’s goals may be therapeutic.

The PHP Framework Interoperability Group (PHP-FIG) has come of age. With the acceptance of more PHP Standards Recommendations (PSRs), PHP has attracted further positive attention and admiration of the programming community. PSRs governing coding standards, coding style guides, autoloading, logging, caching and HTTP messages have been accepted.

[...] However, the future isn’t as bright as painted, as a recent ruckus within the organization has thrown its continuing existence under doubt.

The post starts out with some of the origins of the group and how its organized and communicates (with a large part of it being the main mailing list). There's some mention of the successes that the group has had (like PSR-0/PSR-4 that allowed for easier creation of the Composer package manager) as well as some disputes that have risen recently about the goals of the group. the post wraps up with a look at other open source communities, the fact that people don't always "see eye-to-eye" and some of the author's own thoughts about the state of PHP-FIG and its future.

One note here: be sure to read the comments on the post - they help clear up a few misunderstandings in the article's contents and give a wider context to the group and its current state.