Thanks for sharing this reddit thread @Centril, it was a very interesting read. I really appreciate all the conversation going on here.
I'm not completely convinced that the language is growing too complex, but I can understand those concerns and I think that it's important that this is always considered and that the language team consists of individuals who have different opinions on where the line is (this isn't to suggest that isn't the case currently, I'm very appreciative of all the hard work that T-Lang do).
However, I do think there is a problem with how challenging it is to follow the changes being proposed to the language (even at a high-level) and how quickly these discussions become draining (even just to follow along, I can't imagine trying to participate). I spend probably an above-average amount of time following Rust's development with my semi-regular contributions to the compiler and if there's something I'm interested in keeping a tab on, it just isn't feasible (eg. I couldn't keep on top of the await syntax discussion this weekend). I think it's important for the community to be able to keep up (with some reasonable time investment).
I don't think that the issue is that there are too many RFCs. I think the issue is that the discussion on these proposals often end up large, sprawling and unproductive.
In my opinon, the discussions on RFCs quickly become unprofessional (definitely not everyone), propose often inpractical solutions (eg. things would need RFCs themselves) or attempt to relitigate already settled discussions.
One of the great things about Rust is how transparent and open the processes are, and how the community around the language can get involved - but I do feel the bar for participation in RFC discussion needs to be higher - there's a really high cost to commenting (which is why I very rarely participate on RFC discussions myself - I'm in no way qualified and don't want to introduce noise).
I would love to be able to look at an RFC proposal and see mostly discussion from the Rust teams, some regular contributors and the occasional community member where all comments are professional, considerate and contribute to the discussion meaningfully. I'd like to walk away understanding what different members of the team think about a proposal and having read a really good discussion (like that happening in the previously linked reddit thread or in this internals topic).
There's just too much noise right now, there should be much less discussion than there currently is - that isn't to say that the topics aren't important and don't warrant discussion - they absolutely do - but a handful of productive and professional individuals could discuss a topic as thoroughly in thirty comments as we currently do in hundreds.
I'm concerned that the team members doing a great job could get burnt out and stop enjoying the work they do on Rust if some changes aren't made to these processes - and I think that's a concern shared by many given all the Rust 2019 posts that hit on these issues (although they may not see things exactly as I do, that's fine).
That's just my 2c, some (ironically) half-baked thoughts - it's not intended to be a criticism of any team or individuals, or to suggest that we do anything radical to limit discussion and shut down any opinions. I also recognize that this post isn't particularly useful as I've not proposed any particular solutions, just enumerated the problems as I see them.