[boost] Re: Design-by-committee?

From: Dave Abrahams (abrahams_at_[hidden])
Date: 1999-09-03 19:01:47

> Yes, the process has been loud-and-noisy, and you can call it
> design-by-committee if you want.  But as one of the original
> collaborators, I don't mind admitting it seems to have produced a
> superior result to the initial "design-by-collaboration".

Anyone who has seen Beman run a C++ library working group meeting knows that
he is extraordinary in his patience and equanimity. Perhaps I should just
cool it and learn yet another lesson from watching him.

Still, participating in boost has become significantly less enjoyable for me
recently... I think it's because it seems like there are too many posts
which are ill-considered but I'm not sure. Maybe the difference is that in a
LWG meeting, only one person talks at a time, so people have to really think
through whether they are going to make a contribution with what they say. I
hope I'm not insulting anyone here - that's not my intention.

So, Beman, are you saying there is a spectrum that runs from
"design-by-committee" through "loud-and-noisy" to "bazaar" and that we're in
the middle but not as bad off as I'm making it out to be?

Just trying to sort out how to be an effective (and happy) citizen,
Dave