Re: [boost] Original STL Library Documentation has been recovered and is now safe forever.

On 9/2/18 2:11 PM, Robert Jones via Boost wrote:

On 2 September 2018 at 17:26, Robert Ramey via Boost wrote:

...

LOL - of course it should be done by boost. But who needs the hassle of proposing it on the list and going through endless discussion about it should be placed on the website, who is going to do it, how much better if would be if ..., arguments that it's outdated, etc. etc. ... ad infinitem.

Hi Robert

Firstly thanks for recovering these documents, it is obviously better that somebody does than that nobody does.

However in answer to your other point you have in effect kicked the can down the road! There will come a time when your site becomes defunct and (please forgive me for being indelicate), so will you.

LMAO - This topic has been broached before on this list. It can be approached from two points of view: a) I'm 70 years old. I can't last much longer so better get it done now. b) I'm 70 years old. Nothing bad has happened in 70 years, so why worry now. I'm in the a) camp. That is

why (among other reasons) these things should be done as a community in preference to an individual.

That would be better. But it doesn't often happen. It more frequently happens that someone just does it, people start using it and seeing what a great idea it is, maybe try to take credit for it, and eventually decide to credit "the community". Actually, "the community" is really just the some total accomplishments due to individual initiative. This is often forgotten for reasons I won't go into now. The hassle of gaining consensus for

something which is self-evident is the price we all pay for a community.

Right. but not everything needs consensus. Some things can just be done. Afterwards the "community" can take credit for it if it's successful.

To be fair this is a bigger problem than you, or I, or Boost.

Everything is bigger than I am. I just ignore this.

In the bowels of the Palace of Westminster are scrolls of legislation dating back hundreds of years, still readable, still "available" in some sense. At the same time digital archives from just twenty years ago are unreadable either from decay or unavailability of the software and hardware of the era to read them. On a personal level I have a modest DVD collection but no longer have a DVD player, and I'm sure this not uncommon. So maybe we should write the SGI documentation on vellum and stash it in the basement! Goodness knows what future historians will make of that.

maybe there's room for optimism. Bach's music has survived hundreds of years so intact through various iterations for technology. Hmmm - I'm not sure rap music will though - at least I hope not. Robert Ramey

Kind Regards

Rob.

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