[boost] Re: Re: FORMAL review process not working well?

From: Robert Ramey (ramey_at_[hidden])
Date: 2004-10-29 17:16:19

"Andreas Huber" <ahd6974-spamgroupstrap_at_[hidden]> wrote in message
news:cluamk$sa6$1_at_sea.gmane.org...
> Johan Nilsson wrote:
> > Could the NIH syndrome be diminished by easier accepting more people
> > into the actual development process for a particular library? Ok, so
>
> For me the NIH syndrome always implies a good amount of non-technical
> arguments, which are almost absent here. So, I don't think that the
> boost community actually suffers from NIH. It might suffer from
> over-perfectionism. However, I believe this is exactly the reason for
> the exceptional quality of the libraries and would therefore not want to
> change anything.
>
> > I'm mostly a lurker here, but even so I believe I've seen people from
> > time to time declaring their willingness to participate in developing
> > a new library, without getting some real response. Take them in, let
> > them be a part of the effort, and maybe the NIH problem will be
> > lessened.
>
> I'm rather skeptical about that approach. Groups of similarly capable
> people are usually not very good at *designing* a library (unless
> there's a boss who has the last word on all the decisions). However, I
> think groups are unbeatable at uncovering design-flaws. So the best
> designs are initially often invented by an individual and the input
> later given by a group (users, boost-members, etc.) should then be used
> to refine until both sides are satisfied. Unfortunately, this puts most
> of the burden on the library submitter but I think it is the best
> process if you aim for high quality.
>

Amen

Robert Ramey