Re: [boost] The problems with Boost development

Subject: Re: [boost] The problems with Boost development
From: Nevin Liber (nevin_at_[hidden])
Date: 2010-03-21 03:50:41

On 19 March 2010 22:13, Edward Diener <eldiener_at_[hidden]> wrote:
> If I may answer that, as an end-user, I first want to say that from the
> end-users perspective the problems with Boost are highly overrated.

Given any perspective, I don't know how to rate the concerns people
bring up.  We have no metrics.  Addressing the needs of those who are
vocal at the expense of those who are silent may not turn out to be a
sound strategy.

Someone brought up the UUID issue.  Is it a one off anomaly, or are
there many similar issues?  Honestly, I don't know.  I do know that we
will never prevent the isolated incidents, but we do need to address
actual (not theoretical) systemic problems.

Are monolithic releases holding adoption back?  I don't know.  As one
of the people who championed Boost into my company, that was a slight
extra burden after getting over the hurdle of allowing any part of
Boost in our system.  As a developer, I'm glad the whole thing is
there, because I never would have been able to successfully fight for
every single library we've used over the years.

IMNSHO, Boost works (and it does work) because

1.  The technical burden on volunteer developers is high while the
bureaucratic burden on volunteer developers is low.
2.  Volunteers do a lot of rarely thanked work behind the scenes.

Unfortunately, most of the "fixes" that are proposed are more along
the lines of "here is what I want the volunteers to do" instead of
"here is what I am volunteering to do".  In my experience, the more
you try to dictate to the volunteers what they must do, the fewer
volunteers you end up with.  I'm not arguing for no direction or
rules; rather, it is a delicate balance.  If one of the problems is
that there aren't enough volunteers (say, as in finding review
managers), making that job harder will accomplish the opposite of
getting more review managers.

Managing volunteers is hard, because the rules are opposite of
managing paid employees.

The start of this thread was someone saying we have to talk about Dave
Abrahams concerns on Boost development.  Somewhere in the thread came
a rebuttal of "This won't boost Boost.".  In my view, we are talking,
but Dave is doing.  Dave *is* boosting Boost.

Talk is cheap.  Not much will happen if you are only doing it hoping
that someone else will carry your proposal.  Instead, when you mention
the problems, also mention what you are willing to do to help fix it.
You don't have to do it alone; just make a commitment that is more
than just talking.

Finally, someone mentioned "buying a beer" for the rarely thanked
Boost volunteers at BoostCon.  While nice, a better gesture would be
to volunteer yourself for something.

The Boost community is what we make of it.  Really.
-- 
 Nevin Liber  <mailto:nevin_at_[hidden]>  [phone]