Boost Asset Stewardship Review from Jakob

From: Jakob Lövhall (lovhall_at_[hidden])
Date: 2024-09-09 09:32:27

I’m not affiliated with either the C++ Alliance or the Boost Foundation. I’m merely a boost user and sends occasional patches as contribution.

The regulatory parts of the proposals are naturally US specific, and I want to make it clear that I do not understand the nuances of those parts.

This is my short review.

Boost Foundation:

The bullet points and values stated in the proposal from the Boost Foundation seems strange to me and does not align with what I have been able to discern from public discourse.

I haven't seen the transparency that’s being discussed. Engagement to provide said transparency seems lacking from the Boost Foundation.

The emphasis on inclusivity over merit feels like a pathway to decline, as it explicitly excludes other groups beyond the intended inclusivity targets. This seems harmful to Boost and its community and should be avoided.

The Boost foundation highlights code of conduct (and policing the discussion) as important going forward. I think it can be damaging, and should thus be avoided.

Additionally, the Boost Foundation has not adequately addressed the infrastructure needs of Boost. In contrast, the C++ Alliance has stepped in to handle these concerns.

C++ Alliance:

Vinnie and others from the C++ Alliance have been actively engaging with the community on Slack and the mailing list—my two main points of contact. This provides transparency, builds relationships, and fosters discussions around technical issues, all of which are beneficial.

The C++ Alliance has provided much-needed infrastructure assistance, particularly in cases where the Boost Foundation has failed to address long-standing issues (e.g., wowbagger).

They support the maintenance (and at times creation) of libraries which I find useful.

They promote on twitter, which I like, I've found good tools and libraries from twitter before and I expect others to also do so. having Boost on twitter therefore helps reaching those who might not have thought about boost when thinking about how to solve their current (C++) problems.

The C++ Alliance focuses on merit over identity, which I believe is the right approach.

Conclusion:

I vote to ACCEPT C++ alliance proposal.