In addition to these internal developments, one can reasonably expect new Debian-based distributions to come to light, thanks to the growing popularity of debian-installer and its flexibility. New specialized subprojects will also be started, in order to widen Debian's reach to new horizons.

The Debian user community will increase, and new contributors will join the project… including, maybe, you!

The Debian project is stronger than ever, and well on its way towards its goal of an universal distribution; the inside joke within the Debian community is about World Domination.

In spite of its old age and its respectable size, Debian keeps on growing in all kinds of (sometimes unexpected) directions. Contributors are teeming with ideas, and discussions on development mailing lists, even when they look like bickerings, keep increasing the momentum. Debian is sometimes compared to a black hole, of such density that any new free software project is attracted.

Beyond the apparent satisfaction of most Debian users, a deep trend is becoming more and more indisputable: people are increasingly realising that collaborating, rather than doing business solo, leads to better results for everyone. Such is the rationale used by distributions merging into Debian by way of subprojects.

The Debian project is therefore not threatened by extinction…