Re: [boost] Are we moving towards 1.35?

From: Douglas Gregor (doug.gregor_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-06-25 09:45:49

On Jun 25, 2007, at 6:51 AM, Nicola Musatti wrote:
> These are the structure of the Subversion repository and the new  
> development
> process. Actually, I believe these are symptoms of a single meta- 
> problem: how
> are strategic decisions taken within Boost?

Yes, the moderators have discussed this issue recently.

> I can offer a few proposals:
> 1) S/he who does the job decides: unfair maybe but, hey,
>    if you're interested, contribute!

This is always going to be the default, because the only way to make  
a change is to show how the result is going to work.

> 2) The moderators decide: undemocratic, but then these are among the
>    people that contributed the most and most continuously over the
>    years; they gained the authority to make decisions on the field.

Boost has never been a "democracy" as such... for reviews, the review  
manager weighs input from the community and makes a decision.

> 3) A poll is taken on the mailing list.

Ick, no. This is precisely why we have review managers making  
decisions. We would not want our decision processes to "degrade to a  
popularity contest."

> 4) A non binding poll is taken on the mailing list, then the
>    moderators decide.
>
> 5) The review process is used.

The moderators did discuss how to make decisions on larger pieces of  
infrastructure in Boost. Basically, some combination of 2, 4, and 5  
seems like the best approach. We would have some public discussion of  
the proposed change (like we have for Subversion) or, if there is a  
strong technical component, an actual review (i.e., this is what one  
would do for a new build or documentation system). Then, the  
moderators would review the discussion and decide based on that.  
Think of it like a formal review, where the moderators (as a group)  
act as review manager. It seems like the most logical extension of  
the review process, applied to infrastructure and Boost-wide decisions.

This isn't really a formal policy as such, but it seems to be the way  
we'll need to move forward.

        - Doug (Boost Moderator)