From: dsroberts@beckman.com
Newsgroups: comp.org.decus
Subject: How DECUS does business
Date: 17 Dec 92 13:41:22 PDT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Beckman Instruments

In article <17DEC199214022742@rover.uchicago.edu>, frank@rover.uchicago.edu (Frank - Hardware Hacker - Borger) writes:
> 	Agreed, there are some problems with openness. When we set up the
> 	Newsletter conference on DCS, it was agreed that it was open to all.
> 	We hoped we could get feedback from users, we wanted that to be the
> 	place where the back-porch type of discussion was held, (versus the
> 	stereotypical smoke filled room.) Regretably, not all conferences
> 	that should be open are.

So, a conference on a open to leadership only system was created to get feedback
from users?  What's wrong with this picture?
> 
>>And, the traffic
>>comes pre-sorted by topic (conference/newsgroup) rather than just dumped into a
>>mailbox in chronological order.
> 
> 	Only if you have enough topics. If you look at the net conferences,
> 	you rarely find one actually sorted. Let's see now, I would need alt.
> 	decus.newsletters.L&T, alt.decus.newsletters.DAARC, alt.decus.news-
> 	letters.finance, ... sure guys. 

Nonsense.  Below topic you have subject and I've yet to see a newsreader so
braindead you couldn't follow topics by subject.

> 	Ok, lets try to summarize. (I just checked, you don't have DCS access,
> 	so you really are not active in DECUS day to day running. What I feel
> 	is:

I am, so let's see how this applies to me.
> 
> 	DCS works well for messaging concerning day to day operations of DECUS,
> 	where I have specific information that must go quickly to a key person
> 	or a few people. example: Many messages go back and forth between a
> 	few people charged with coming up with a commercialism policy pertinent
> 	to th newsletters in particular.

okay
> 
> 	Notes/etc works best for taking that commercialism policy you have just
> 	sweated out and submitting it to the general populace to get their
> 	reactions. (Hopefully you will get constructive criticism, in truth,
> 	you will typically end up with few responses.)

And when was this submitted to the "general populace to get their reactions"? 
I saw it on DCS, a system LIMITED TO LEADERSHIP.  Are you saying that the only
general populace that counts is leadership?  urp.

> 	The trick is to balance proper use of DCS versus notes so that I am
> 	properly informed and told of major changes that will take place,
> 	without being snowed under by the sheer volume of messages that
> 	go flying by.

The trick is to make the information about DECUS leadership available to the
general populace (hint, Frank, that is not limited to us leader types) and
allow them to comment without placing an excessive traffic burden on
leadership.  DCS notes is DECIDEDLY unrelated to this.
> 
>    Frank R. Borger - Physicist    __       Internet:  Frank@rover.uchicago.edu
> Michael Reese - Univ. of Chicago |___      Phone : 312-791-8075 fax : 567-7455
>   Center for Radiation Therapy   | |_) _   In the first place God made idiots.
>                                    | \|_)  That was for practice. Then he made
>     "Birthplace of Softball"          |_)  school boards. - Mark Twain

So how about at least sending the dcs conference contents (not member only at
least) out to a netnews hierarchy?  How about we create a DECUS. hierarchy
similar to that of VMSNET and distribute the notes conferences that way? 
Better still make it two way so you can REALLY talk to the members.  Or switch
to netnews altogether and remove the requirement for the VMS paradigm, since so
many DECUS LEADERS object to it in the first place (Clyde Pool and Kurt Riesler
to name two).  That way you could even read it on your own system and get the
info faster!  What a concept.
-- 
   Don Roberts                   Internet:  dsroberts@beckman.com
   Beckman Instruments, Inc.     Phone:     714/961-3029
   2500 Harbor Bl. Mailstop X-12 FAX:       714/961-3351
   Fullerton, CA  92634          Disclaimer:  Blame me, not Beckman.
   "Abortion isn't a 'choice', it's the slaughter of the innocent"