Uniforum

[Donn Seeley]

I think it's a mistake to get put out of shape before the conference
starts.  Let's just do our best to make sure that the respective
leaderships of /vendor/group and Usenix know what the rank and file
expects to find.  If things don't look right when we get there, well,
there are plenty of board members to lean on and we can always do some
impromptu organization of our own.  It doesn't have to be the '68
Democratic Convention but there are many of us and few of them...
If all else fails I plan to wear my '83 conference Official Staff
T-shirt.

If Usenix and /usr/group really do end up filing for divorce, then I
think it will be a loss, although not that big of a loss.  As Mike
O'Dell has said, it is useful to peruse the vendor exhibits at these
conferences -- at the very least these give you some colorful lapel
buttons to wear on the plane back home...  And it is only fair to let
the vendors make a good pitch, by giving them their marketing talks.
But I agree with Lauren that there is no need to let matters get out of
hand.  I think Usenix members in general feel that technical
conferences are more interesting and more profitable, and I for one
would support a return to a more technical format.  I remember some
gripes a year ago about how hard it was for the vendors to do two Unix
exhibitions a year -- why don't we schedule two conferences a year, but
make only one of them a joint conference?

I just KNOW my plane will get nailed by ground-to-air missiles from
the White House,

Donn Seeley    UCSD Chemistry Dept. RRCF    ucbvax!sdcsvax!sdchema!donn