Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!umich!samsung!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!psuvax1!psuvm!IVORY!MWH From: mwh@IVORY.EDUCOM.EDU (Michael Hrybyk) Newsgroups: bit.listserv.policy-l Subject: Re: User interface for list postings Message-ID: Date: 5 Feb 90 15:24:24 GMT Sender: Discussion about BITNET policies Reply-To: Discussion about BITNET policies Lines: 44 Approved: NETNEWS@PSUVM Gateway Full-Name: Michael Hrybyk Comments: To: POLICY-L%BITNIC@pucc.PRINCETON.EDU From David Lippke's fine piece: >I know I'm strange ;-), but BITNET just means certain >things to me and VOLUNTARISM is one of those things. BITNET means the same to me - it exists upon the strength of the volunteers who support it. Voluntarism does not have to mean lack of organization. I believe if there was a venue for distribution of BITNET-related software (eg, the Iowa clearinghouse, uunet, the Free Software Foundation), voluntary software production would increase. BITNIC could (should??) perform the clearinghouse function. We get an incredible amount of mail and phone questions related to installation and maintenance of various volunteer-produced software packages across operating systems. I believe that it is important to provide support to local maintainers of these packages. Just how this should be done is an important question. Should we develop in-house support, or organize a set of volunteer consultants for each package? Which package(s) should we do this for? What scheme should be used to allow for rapid information flow from the person with the problem to the expert who can help? I see BITNIC deeply involved in these and other support questions in the future. Note that these issues are the same for your computing centers and their user support functions, except at a meta level. Finally, BITNIC will never be a software production house (although we *are* programmers, and can produce tools as necessary). The work of volunteer programmers is at the heart of this community network, and needs to be aided. Part of the reason that I came to work at the NIC was due to the emphasis on volunteerism. I like to reread Stallman's GNU Manifesto from time to time. >It could be that BITNET is entering a new phase of its life which demands >bureaucracy with all of its rules, regulations, and forms in triplicate. >In my book, such a phase should be labeled THE DECLINE. I sincerely >hope this is not what's actually happening. Let's hope that the need for organization never shuts out the impetus to create. Mike Hrybyk BITNIC