From: frank@rover.uchicago.edu (Frank - Hardware Hacker - Borger)
Subject: Re: EXECUTION of DECUS Standards
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Reply-To: frank@rover.uchicago.edu
Organization: Joint Center for Radiation Therapy
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 22:49:00 GMT

In article <1992Dec15.174907@mccall.com>, tp@mccall.com (Terry Poot) writes...

>>	You are very much a minority.  The news letter subscription was about
>>2% of the membership and a good number of subscribers had/have either or both
>>DECUServe or DCS accounts.
> 
>Do you know the percentage, by any chance? That's something I've been curious
>about from time to time. 

	A reasonable SWAG is that, at the end of their life, the newsletter
	sub base was about equal to DECUServe subscriptions, also equal to
	DCS accounts, (total, not active.)
>BTW, as far as the newsletters, I'm glad Joel Snyder is
>exploring alternate delivery mechanisms. I wish that had been done before they
>newsletters were killed.
	
	This is still being explored. It was a topic many times before, but
	until the reorganization of the Communication Committee down to a
	reasonable working group, trying to get anybody to agree to anything
	was a major hassle. (Why do you think I changes from "Ringmaster"
	to "Free Spirit"?)
>...
>The newsletters could have been an effective vehicle to disseminate such
>information. For instance, the ballots for SIG representatives could have
>appeared in the newsletters, allowing for mail in ballots for those who couldn't
>attend symposia. 

	Other SIGs have used the Newsletters for years for various votings,
	(bylaws, elections, etc.) However, if the truth be known, many SIGs
	and organizations have a problem getting one candidate, let alone two.
	(Over several years of active involvement, I can only remember one time
	when there was a real spirited battle between two candidates for a spot.

	Most of the time, operations ran by, "Sam/Sue just got transferred and
	can't be xyzzy any more. Could you fill in until next election?" The
	suck^H^H^H^Hvolunteer says "Sure..." Come next election, the volunteer
	runs unapposed.
>Someone mentioned those woods meetings. I'd consider them a real
>strong candidate for cutbacks. 
	Anybody know that feeling you get about Thursday evening at symposia,
	where you feel just out of it? I started getting it Monday afternoon
	when trying to do DECUS and do a SIG and do CommComm. Woods meetings
	can be quite cheap, and often are the keystone of a good SIG.
>Another idea would be to dump DCS and put the
>leadership onto DECUServe with the rabble. That would do some good, in addition
>to maybe saving some money, though I don't know enough about that setup to know
>if there would be any real savings to that.
	Would you really like to see 10 or 20 mail messages a day from the
	small SIGS, more from the big ones, all posted to DECUServe? DCS
	provides targeted messaging, via mail lists. RUN DECUS using DECUServe
	urk, choke, ghasp.

Note, various cuts made, not all noted completely

   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 biblical times a man could have
                                   | \|_)  as many wives as he could afford.
    "Birthplace of Softball"          |_)  Just like today. - Abagail VanBuren