Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!rex!mandel@vax.anes.tulane.edu
From: mandel@vax.anes.tulane.edu (Jeff E Mandel MD MS)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: Official call for subgroup
Message-ID: <6213@rex.cs.tulane.edu>
Date: 19 Feb 91 13:49:21 GMT
References: <6207@rex.cs.tulane.edu> <10873@jarthur.Claremont.EDU>
Sender: news@rex.cs.tulane.edu
Organization: Tulane University School of Medicine
Lines: 70

In article <10873@jarthur.Claremont.EDU> bgribble@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Bill
Gribble) writes:
><sigh>.  I think that was a mistake.  Having just sat through the successful
>  reorganization of the amiga hierarchy, I think this was the wrong way
>  to go about any group spawning.  
>
The purpose of the discussion period is to allow people to make suggestions as
to the appropriateness of the group name and mandate. If you have a suggestion,
make it. If you have no constructive input, then there is little point to
posting.

>First of all, I don't think there's any general agreement on the fact that 
>  a split needs to take place, and second, even if a split does need to 
>  happen NOBODY is in agreement that this particular solution is tha one 
>  we want to adopt.  Who are you to determine the future of this newsgroup
>  without FIRST, a call for (non-official) in-group discussion of whether
>  a split needs to happen; SECOND, call for in-group discussion of 
>  what sort of split should take place and what the split-off newsgroups
>  should be called; THIRD, a brief waiting period STILL IN THE GROUP
>  for any more discussion, and finally, after everybody is pretty well
>  agreed on what the new structure should be, a post to the news.*
>  groups for 'official' confirmation.  You seem to have taken matters
>  into your own hands with a proposal that might or might not have anybody's
>  support, and will probably not pass since the rest of us weren't 
>  really consulted in the matter.

 "Who I am" is a member of the Usenet community who has idntified a problem and
is trying to work constructively for a solution within the constituted process.
As I see it, anyone can initiate this process, and need only convince enough
people that it is a good idea. Do you have a compelling reason why people who
are interested in handhelds, but not SPECIFICALLY HP, should have to wade
through all the HP postings?
  So far as the unofficial discussion, it has been going on for two weeks. The
official call for discussion initiates a period of up to 31 days, during which
time we try to assess whether the proposal is sufficiently meritorious to
warrant the vote. I have studied the document on new group creation, and have
tried to adhere to the policies stated. Incidently, regarding your next posting
to this group, I copied the name of the group to post the official call to from
the document. It is indeed news.announce.newgroups, not news.groups.
  So far as consultation, exactly what would you have me do? It's not like
there is a list of phone numbers somewhere that I can access and call everyone
personally. I have posted 4 messages to the group in the last 2 weeks on this.
The issue has been around long enough for people to be aware of it.
 
>
>In case anybody's interested, the ration of no votes to yes in my informal
>  poll is about 2 to 1, though the sample size is pretty small (~10 
>  votes) with some good proposals from those in favor - proposals we won't 
>  get to consider now, since by the time this newgroup passes or dies 
>  everybody will be so sick of the issue they won't want to vote on 
>  anything else.

If you are correct, then you have nothing to fear from the process. If the
group rejects the split, I will abide by the decision.

>
>Sorry to rant, but this sort of irks me.
>

Bill, I am not sure that ranting ever accomplishes much except to prove that
you can do it. If you have constructive suggestions to make, you have 30 days
to convince me not to submit the proposal for a vote. I am a reasonable person,
and will listen to all logical arguments. I would prefer if you not dip your
arrows in poison before sending them, but I am a big boy; I survive in a
private university's medical school.

Jeff E Mandel MD MS
Asst Professor of Anesthesiology
Tulane University School of Medicine
New Orleans, LA