somewhere in this zillion-thread discussion there was a comment about Plan 9 and its multi-headed community. While that comment was probably accurate a few years back, the last two years of Plan 9 workshops saw a lot of us, representing many different Plan 9 code bases, get together and converge on where we want to go. Once you meet someone in person, and go get a cheesesteak together, arguments seem to resolve.
I would say, don't take too many impressions from 9fans, a famously argumentative list. The folks who write Plan 9 code are in broad agreement about moving forward and leaving hatchets buried. Progress is never as rapid as we all would like, but I'm optimistic.