[boost] Review quality [ was stack trace review]

Subject: [boost] Review quality [ was stack trace review]
From: Robert Ramey (ramey_at_[hidden])
Date: 2016-12-26 11:39:39

On 12/25/16 7:18 PM, Andrey Semashev wrote:

> Second, it's not like the library does not exist before it is
> accepted. Users and the author have every opportunity to try the
> library in the field, if they want to. There is blincubator.com as
> well.

Indeed, the ability to make a library visible in a convenient way for 
usage and experimentation in advance of the formal review was one of the 
main goals of the inclubator.  The hope was that the authors would get 
enough feedback to detect and make adjustments for obvious issues in 
advance of the formal review.  The hope was that this would make the 
review process run smoother and diminish the number of libraries 
rejected in the review process.

To my disappointment it hasn't worked out that way.  Libraries get very 
little feedback on the blincubator or anywhere else for that matter.  I 
understand this as it's actualy a fair bit of work to review a library. 
But that doesn't keep me from being disappointed though.

Library authors are anxious to get their library on to the review queue 
and feel compelled to find a reviewer to accept the task. I understand 
this as well.  But still I'd like to see more "pre-review" feedback.

And a few authors have declined to post their library on the blincubator 
at all. I'm sure they have their reasons, but I'm disappointed that they 
don't find it compelling or necessary.

I should say I received very little feedback on my safe numerics 
library.  BUT I found it to be very, very, useful.  It made me realize 
that that I had to make a strong case for the necessity for such a 
library. In hindsight it's incredible that this had never occurred to 
me. Up to that point I had always assumed that the whole world was 
anxiously awaiting my solution to the very obvious and glaring problem 
with computing which has been around since it's inception.

So I am interested in receiving feedback on the incubator. On the other 
hand, making changes of the incubator requires understanding of modern 
web tools which are very, very, depressing to use for the compable C++ 
programmer.  Oh well.

Robert Ramey