[boost] There's a serious problem with the Boost Community :(

Subject: [boost] There's a serious problem with the Boost Community :(
From: Jon Biggar (jon_at_[hidden])
Date: 2009-07-31 01:47:03

Even though this is a complaint, let me start off by stating that I'm a 
happy user of Boost libraries for over six years, and don't intend to stop.

That said, here's the problem: simple patches submitted languish without 
  action or response for far too long.  I submitted a patch for bjam 
with ticket #2552 back in November, including test cases to verify that 
it operates correctly.  But despite requesting over several release 
cycles since then, no action has been taken and I haven't even gotten a 
response.

It's a pain in the butt to have to keep reintegrating the same patch, 
release after release so I can keep working on code that I hope to one 
day submit to for inclusion in a Boost release.

The Boost Community *really* needs a mechanism to ensure that patches 
submitted are acknowledged, vetted, and if found worthy, integrated into 
a release in a timely manner.  Not doing so discourages contribution.

Let me suggest that the Community set up something like the review 
queue, where a few volunteers could regularly select the next patch, 
request comments from the community and then champion getting the patch 
integrated into the next Boost release.  I understand that library 
owners have a stake in the design vision and integrity of their 
library's code, so the community will have to figure out a policy where 
patches with minimal impact on a library's integrity can be quickly 
integrated without requiring a lot of the primary library owner's or 
maintainer's time, but will still get integrated or rejected in a timely 
manner.

-- 
Jon Biggar
jon_at_[hidden]
jon_at_[hidden]
jonbiggar_at_[hidden]