The CMake Decision That Almost Lost a Boost Veteran

René Rivera Morell has spent years contributing to Boost — building its website, working on build-system infrastructure, and helping maintain the tools developers depend on.

But at one point, he was ready to walk away.

After spending roughly two years building the Boost website and working with Peter Dimov on the transition between Boost Build and CMake, a proposal was made at C++ Now to move Boost fully toward CMake.

The problem?

From René’s perspective, the people maintaining the existing system hadn’t been consulted.

His reaction was blunt:

“If you’re telling me that you don’t want my work anymore, what’s the point of me staying around?”

That moment nearly ended his involvement with the community.

What changed was a different approach to open source — one built around supporting and compensating contributors for the work they actually want to do.

For René, that renewed his belief in the future of the libraries.

He also talks about where his love of technology began, why he prefers the word “geek,” and what still makes open-source work rewarding after all these years:

“That solved my problem.”