Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!mailrus!iuvax!rutgers!gatech!hubcap!ncrcae!ece-csc!jnh
From: jnh@ece-csc.UUCP (Joseph Nathan Hall)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: The USENET Macintosh Programmer's Guide
Keywords: Programming Guide
Message-ID: <3969@ece-csc.UUCP>
Date: 3 Apr 89 10:06:03 GMT
References: <3966@ece-csc.UUCP> <11647@umn-cs.CS.UMN.EDU> <9937@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>
Reply-To: jnh@ece-csc.UUCP (Joseph Nathan Hall)
Organization: North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Lines: 70

(Whew ... wish I got this much mail at home!)

I'm going to comment on a couple of issues that have cropped up frequently
in replies to my earlier postings about the UMPG.  I'm not posting summaries
yet, but will do so as soon as I figure I've gotten the first "wave" of
replies (three or four more days?).

1) Copyright.  Several of you have suggested copyrighting the Guide in one
form or another, ostensibly to prevent commercial exploitation.  I'll admit
I haven't given this issue exhaustive thought, but I would rather NOT see
it copyrighted.  In particular, programming examples and/or modules
distributed with the Guide should be available for ANY use whatsoever.
If someone wants to pop them into his/her commercial application, so be it. 
I also doubt that a publisher is likely to put a lot of effort into
reprinting a PD work that is also available for free (or for copying
costs), thus I'm not really worried that the Guide might be reprinted by
an unscrupulous author/publisher.

The example I DON'T want to follow is that of the FSF.  Use of GNU products is
severely restricted in industry and commercial-academic applications because
of the FSF licensing agreement.  Although I don't disagree with the ideals
espoused by Richard Stallman and the FSF (...or at least, I admire them),
the restriction to not-for-profit use has unpleasant side effects that any of
us who are working on projects that are even potentially marketable find
difficult to appreciate.  I would rather follow the example of Paul Dobois
and TransSkel, and just let the chips fall where they may.

Please continue to mail me comments on this issue.  If you have any specific
suggestions about copyrighting, and in particular what you think the
consequences of either copyrighting or not copyrighting might be, please
illuminate me with them.

2) Distribution.  I suggest MS Word and plain text.  LaTeX would be nice,
too, but don't look to me for the conversion.  Again, I think MacWrite is
too underpowered, and no other WP software is as commonly used as these
two packages.

3) Editing/Organization.  The topic-by-topic approach is by far your favorite.
I can and will put together an amended list of topics, and will post it
in a few days.  I will happily take on the chores of organizing, proofreading
and copyediting so far as my schedule permits.  I was almost an English
major once (before fiscal reality set in), and I enjoy writing (even attended
the Clarion Science Fiction Writing Workshop at MSU in 1985), so I feel that
I can do a good job of this.  (My copyediting corrections will be limited to
Strunk & White-type things, and I will NOT bicker over an author's style,
even if I really don't like it.)

In addition, everyone on the reviewer's list will be invited to contribute
comments, corrections, and revisions.  The list is shaping up nicely, and
includes everyone from beginning Mac programmers to professional Mac
applications programmers.

As far as the delegation of tasks goes, well, let's keep this informal, in
the ad hoc USENET spirit of things.  (At least for now.)  For now, just
tell me who you are and what you want to do; if you have any code and/or
articles already written, please send them now!  I'll organize whatever I
get in the way of submissions and mail it to reviewers in a few days if I
have enough.  We'll introduce greater structure later if it's required.

4) Industry/Organization Contacts.  At the least, I'd like to find liasons
at BCS, BMUG and Apple.  (Add Think, Claris and Microsoft, too.)
I need people who can assemble technical information and/or programming
examples and clear it for reprinting (with or without copyright).

That's all for now, folks.  Next update in a day or two ...
-- 
v   v sssss|| joseph hall                      || 201-1D Hampton Lee Court
 v v s   s || jnh@ece-csc.ncsu.edu (Internet)  || Cary, NC  27511
  v   sss  || the opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of my
-----------|| employer, north carolina state university . . . . . . . . . . .