On 2012-07-19 07:20, Robert Ramey wrote:
Philippe Vaucher wrote:
Having only one (or two) people responsible for widely used libraries doesn't seem ideal. one person is plenty if he keeps the work up to date. In my experience (includes being a non-boost library maintainer for many years):
Two or more persons would allow for - reviews by team mates - one person to step down without the library being orphaned (I found someone to take over, but it was tough after several years of one-man-show) - one person to come on board who is expressing ability and interest (easier to add a person to a small team than to a single developer) - helping a less experienced programmer to build up experience and confidence due to the support of his team mates One person on the other hand: - will make stupid mistakes every now and then no matter how good he or she is - is more likely to get lost by losing interest, insufficient time, new priorities, accident, death... Not everybody is capable of working well in a team though.
I think a lot of people would be willing to help out. I think lots of people would be happy to apply their own patches. <snip>
Between the options of one maintainer and total chaos there are other nuances possible, e.g. a small team. But in the end, IMHO, the maintainers themselves should choose whether prefer to work in a team or not. Just my 2c. Roland