[boost] Future of Boost [was: quat and oct ported to MSVC6]

From: David Abrahams (david.abrahams_at_[hidden])
Date: 2002-05-01 07:18:28

----- Original Message -----
From: <Bjorn.Karlsson_at_[hidden]>

> > From: David Abrahams [mailto:david.abrahams_at_[hidden]]
> >
> > I don't think we have any formal notion of a library maintainer at
> > Boost. Perhaps we should? Maybe it we should label libraries
> > "stable but
> > unmaintained" if their maintainers become unresponsive? Maybe
> > unmaintained libraries should be "up for maintenance grabs" after a
> > certain amount of time has passed?
> >
> > Hmm, where have I read these questions before?
> >
> > -Dave
>
> I second that proposal. Right now some productive outcome of
discussions
> remain hidden in a chain of notes rather than where it really counts;
in the
> code.
>
> [Maybe that could be yet another burden on the broad shoulders of the
> moderators?]

Heh, thanks a lot!

Unfortunately, none of us can accept that burden. The boost moderators
are already overwhelmed to the point that Boost is in danger of becoming
a victim of its own success. There simply aren't enough of us who can
devote enough time to keep everything working smoothly. One outcome of
the Boost meeting in Curacao was a consensus that we need more community
participation in Boost's administration. I think the way to go is to
designate some specific jobs and accept volunteers.

The most obvious job I can think of in light of this discussion is a
"maintenance nanny": this person would keep track of submitted patches
and make sure someone is responding to them. This person should also be
responsible for keeping track of who is each library's maintainer,
reassigning maintenance duties if that person disappears, and keeping
the web pages listing of maintainers up-to-date.

I think the above is an example of the sort of job description that
should work for boost: it's only limited commitment in addition to
watching traffic on the boost list. Using a special email filter to look
for mentions of the yahoogroups files area or the word patch could help
automate the latter.

-Dave