[boost] Re: Boost as charity-ware

From: Alisdair Meredith (alisdair.meredith_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-01-19 16:42:27

Gennaro Prota wrote:

> I would *love* to see boost becoming a charity-ware collection of
> libraries. The idea is that we choose a list of associations and
> bodies, and set up a mechanism, through the boost site or another
> site, where download is possible only by making a donation to one of
> the associations. That would be the only condition and the software
> would be of course free to use, copy and modify.

I am unreservedly opposed, no matter which charities are selected.
It is not that I am anti-charity.  Quite the contrary.  But I believe
mixing the two contradicts boost purpose.

Boost is about excellence of production ready libaries made freely
available to the C++ community, with one eye towards the next standard. 
Its primary concern is to serve the C++ community and anything that gets
in the way of that acceptance should be treated with great skepticism.

Aligning with charities, any charity no matter how noble, brings you
dangerously close to the world of politics where perfect good products
can be (and are) rejected purely by association.

Charity to feed the third world?  You're propping up dictatorships that
would otherwise collapse
"Save the Children"?  How about all those innocent parents hounded by
mis-accusations
Let's not even get involved with the commercial conflict when charities
start opposing various technologies such as land mines or GM crops.

I see no benefit to boost in forging such a link, and potential for
significant harm on the edges of the community.

I feel like the Grinch stealing Christmas coming out so strongly against
something that is doubtless well motivated, and proposed by someone far
more active in the community than myself, but see to much potential harm
for it to pass without comment.

-- 
AlisdairM