On Fri, Aug 2, 2024 at 1:42 AM Alexander Grund via Boost
My concern is also the apparent shift from a low-cost, low-maintenance (website?) solution to something seemingly requiring vast amounts of money and effort. As far as I understood the old website was more or less static HTML while the new one requires a considerable backend to provide dynamic services.
The old website is just one service provided by the "wowbagger" server which currently hosts much of the infrastructure required to support Boost. There is also the mailing list, currently using mailman2 which is no longer supported. There are various scripts and services such as the commit-bot which updates the submodules in the superproject as needed, scripts to perform builds on demand as the superproject changes and publish the rendered documentation for master and develop branches to the website, and more.
That might not be sustainably long-term or in case someone (in this case the C++ Alliance) steps down and someone else has to volunteer to take over.
This is a reasonable concern but I think that the fears might be overblown. In the unlikely event that the C++ Alliance needs to focus its efforts elsewhere or cease operations, we would support a graceful transition for the community. The Alliance consists mostly of Boost volunteers just like everyone else except that they are compensated. They have their own libraries which they author and maintain. Matt Borland for example, was already a long-time Boost contributor before becoming an Alliance Staff Engineer. Our people are Boost volunteers first, employees second. Ask anyone who works with us, such as Marshall Clow, for example, who was our first hire. The idea that the Alliance is controlled by one person who can simply walk away and leave Boost worse off, is not a serious one. I for one, have several libraries in Boost and several more in development. And there is no desire for me to abandon my work with all the years I have put into it. I do have concerns about the long-term sustainability of the Boost project, because there is no well-defined plan or visible efforts made to replenish our diminishing ranks with new, talented engineers. This is something I am trying to change, even in the face of some rather vocal opposition to my methods (such as a trademarked logo).
I would prefer if the domain is ultimately owned by the Boost Foundation as the inactivity related to those matters at least shows that nothing bad will happen.
The boost.org domain expired in 2022, becoming unavailable for almost two days. If Beman Dawes' surviving spouse had passed away at any time before the Alliance made its offer to the estate, the boost.org domain would go to auction in 2025.
I expect the same (or even improvements) when the Alliance owns it but I do understand the sentiments against having essentially a single person controlling it and what will happen to the domain once the Alliance shifts its interest after having bought it for a large amount of money.
Our offer to the estate was for a total of $35,000 plus legal fees. The sum is broken down into $5,000 to the executor, and $30,000 to establish the "Beman Scholarship." This offer still stands of course. It is not "a large amount of money." The boost.io domain, on the other hand... that was rather expensive ($135,000). It is looking more and more like we will not be needing it, thankfully.
I would prefer a shared ownership though such that in case of shifted interest ... In case that person looses interest
This seems to be a common, reasonable fear regarding Alliance stewardship of shared resources. Given that Boost's current governance structure has enabled stagnation. I think this is a problem worth solving. I am already putting together a long-term plan for the continued operation of the Alliance when I am no longer present. We could also figure out some kind of backup plan which developers can utilize if Alliance governance becomes unsuited for the project. Yes I think this needs to be addressed. It will be easier to attract new people to the project if it is seen that it has a durable foundation. Thanks