[ajax77]

That's simply not the case.. In general, the "no penalty" holds true for primitive data types, and when passing an r-value instance of a class that has a move copy constructor defined. In the case where your object is an expensively constructed l-value, it is preferable to pass by const reference rather than value (assuming you plan to use the object later... otherwise you could indeed pass using std::move semantics).

[octopus]

In C++11 you are supposed to use move semantics in your own classes. I'm not 100% sure but I think the standard require that the STL use move semantics.

[cageface]

Yes but this is one more thing you have to think about when implementing a class in C++ and one more chance to screw it up.

It makes vanilla C and raw pointers look a lot more appealing, to be honest.

[octopus]

Actually I think C++11 is a simpler language than C++03 or C++98. The problem is that we need to un-learn what we know and learn the new way of doing things.

[cageface]

C++11 is simpler for the casual user of classes but I'm not so sure it's easier if you're implementing a lot of classes yourself. I disable assignment and copying in all my classes by default unless I have a really good reason to implement them and I still pass by const & for types I define myself.