From: pete@cs.umd.edu (Pete Cottrell)
Newsgroups: comp.org.usenix
Subject: Whither SAGE?
Date: 19 Aug 92 20:03:21 GMT
Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742


	At the San Antonio Usenix, the SAGE system administration 
special-interest group was announced. The Saturday after the conference
ended, there was a 10am meeting for people interested in more information 
and in getting involved with the development of the group.
	There was a certain amount of lively discussion at this meeting.
Some newcomers were surprised (and perhaps distressed) by several developments.

-- The charter of the group was pretty much in place. One of the main purposes
	of the meeting was to discuss the charter and by-laws and amend them
	accordingly; it seemed as though this was happening, but there wasn't
	time to go over everything.

-- There was already a plan for the group's board of directors and officers,
	and the positions were already filled. There was a lot of discussion 
	about the number of board members, and the length of office for
	board members and officers. I should say that by the time I left,
	some of these numbers had been changed (or motions to change these
	numbers had been agreed on) as a result of votes taken in the room.

-- Most of the initial work before the group was announced had been done
	by members of BayLISA. There had been some attempt to broaden the
	scope of this group by bringing in someone from the mid-east US and
	the east coast, but many didn't really feel that 10 or so Bay-area
	folks and 2 non-Bay area people was adequate national representation.

-- Memberships were being sold for $25, without really saying what one would
	get for the money, or how it would be used.
	
	A lot of people at the meeting wondered why the group hadn't been
announced or even discussed before the conference so that those interested
could have made the necessary travel arrangements that would have allowed 
them to participate in this first meeting. Input from many more people would
have been better, a point I think pretty much everyone agreed to. There was
some explanation as to why the group hadn't been announced before; I don't
remember the particulars, but it didn't seem to be the strongest argument.
	To a cynical, skeptical member of the audience who has learned to 
approach things cautiously, the impression could have been that BayLISA was
taking their group national (and even international) with their members in 
the SAGE leadership positions and signing up members without really giving
them a chance to participate in the formative process or telling what they
would get out of it. 
	One thing in particular that bothered me was that some of the people
leading the meeting (and who were already board members) seemed surprised that
newcomers would be challenging what had already been set up, or that they
would be skeptical. I was one of those newcomers who was questioning some of
what was discussed, although I do not hold the cynic's viewpoint expressed
above. At the break, this was all being discussed and I was asked if I thought
that the doubts and questions some of us had were enough to bias me against
the group; would this cause me to not join? I replied that although I thought
there were some problems with the initial procedures, I thought we were all
reasonable people and that no one was going out of their way to hide things
and that together we could make a group that would serve a useful purpose.
I put down my $25 and filled out a membership form. At that point, I had to
leave, because my travel arrangements didn't leave time to attend the rest
of the meeting.
	Since then, I have heard nothing about SAGE. Now, I have been away 
for most of the past three weeks, and time pressures and the ever-increasing
amount of news mean I don't track comp.org.usenix as well as I'd like, so
maybe I've just missed something. But it was said at that Saturday meeting
that there would be a mailing list (or rather, that there was already a
mailing list); I put my address down on the membership form, and had also 
given my e-mail address to someone at Thursday's reception, but I haven't
seen anything on this yet.
	Please let me say that none of this is meant as an attack on any
person or on BayLISA; I have respect for the people involved and know them
to be well-ingrained in the USENIX society. But I wonder what is going on.
I still obviously feel that I have no say in this organization; at this
point, I have to wonder if an organization even exists. Where did my money
go and what does my membership gain me? What can I contribute (besides cash)?
I still have a lot of unanswered questions.
	If this has all been discussed before, then I apologize and perhaps
someone can bring me up to speed. If I just fell through the cracks,
then I'd appreciate it if SAGE would immediately fill in some details and
take steps to see that I receive the benefits of my membership. If, on the
other hand, SAGE hasn't really geared up or done anything yet, then I think
we should start discussing this and start things moving. What's the scoop?

		Pete

-- 
Spoken: Pete Cottrell 	UUCP: uunet!mimsy!pete      INTERNET: pete@cs.umd.edu  
Phone: 301-405-2749	USPS: U of Maryland, CS Dept., College Park, Md 20742