Asset Stewardship Review

From: Phil Endecott (spam_from_boost_dev_at_[hidden])
Date: 2024-09-18 13:06:08

I've been a Boost user and subscriber to this mailing list for most
of this century, but I'm not a library author.

It's tempting to write a long navel-gazing essay about the history
of Boost and what it needs to do to remain vital, and then to
pretend to forensically study the competing proposals to determine
which will give the best result in the longer term. But in this
post I'll try to be more honest: isn't this review more like a
referendum on whose side we favour in the Vinnie Falco vs. David
Sankel clash of personalities? Somehow we've reached a point where
"this town ain't big enough for the two of them" and we're being
asked to choose who to exile.

What do I think about the Boost Foundation? I have always been
mystified by why the Foundation, and the Steering Committee before
them, have interacted so little with the list. The most
extraordinary example of this was that the very establishment of
the Foundation was not announced to the developers! Periodic, brief
updates on Foundation activities to the mailing list would not have
taken much effort could even have resulted in more offers of help.
The foundation's present proposal starts by talking about
"Transparency"; perhaps they would be more transparent in the
future, but that would be a departure from how they have worked in
the past.

Regarding Vinnie and his C++ Alliance, I've not had a very positive
view of them since he posted this back in 2023:

   "Something which should not surprise anyone is that I despise
   paying taxes."

This statement is repeated in his current proposal.

Personally, I'm proud of the tax that my business and I pay as it
funds education, health, pensions and other public services that
make my community a better place in which to live. In the world I
inhabit, this is a mainstream view.

It's one thing to despise paying taxes, but I think it's quite
another to tell everyone that and assume that they share the same
view. When I read that the boost.io domain for the "temporary"
website had cost $135,000, my reaction was that you could feed a
lot of hungry children with that sort of money.

My conclusion is, "a plague on both your houses".

I fear that Boost is doomed. This review will result in Vinnie's
hostile takeover succeeding, but eventually he'll lose interest -
maybe when the "young developers" that he hopes to attract don't
materialise, or maybe after another falling-out with someone else.
Then the project will sink.

I think this is the right time for me to unsubscribe from this
list; being here doesn't help me, and my contributions don't seem
to help anyone else. I extend my best wishes and thanks to all
those whose libraries I have used over the years.

Regards, Phil.