Given that this is a Boost mailing-list, I am struggling to understand were you are going with this discussion.
If you wish to object to the removal of auto_ptr, a better venue is the std-proposals mailing-list.
Excellent question... Boost has impact. Some committee members read and write there, standard library developers read and write there. Boost is case of a widely used library that works from gcc-3.4 to gcc-6 from MSVC-2005 to 2015 and even more. The perspective of library developers who design a library and API for very-very-wide range of platforms and compilers think differently. Library developers do not have a lechery to say we have new good stuff that make things better lets use it in our *API*... because ooooops - 90% of the real world can't use because they don't use bleeding edge stuff. I hope such a discussion would give a different perspective, provide more awareness to developers and hopefully effect some decision makers If you think that this discussion should be canceled... no problem. Artyom