Node handles are an over-specified solution to the relatively simple problem of moving nodes between associative containers, which can be done with a more conservative interface similar to std::list::splice. There is a lack of consistency with std::list, where splicing and merging can be done but there is no node handle-based interface, yet lists are indeed node based, too. P00832 acknowledges the simpler solution (by Talbot) but dismisses it as it offered “no further advantages”: however, the further advantages or use cases node handles allegedly provide are not clear at all.