/usr/group and Uniforum

[Mike O'Dell]

After venting my spleen in the previous messages, I got to thinking
about why I was as aggravated as those notes showed I was.  I don't
have any personal bones to pick with either Mr. Florio or Ms. Yates,
and /usr/group provides some very useful services to the Unix community.
(The /usr/group software catalog  has already been valuable for finding
things we didn't have time to write, and has been powerful in combatting
the "Unix doesn't have any software" management biases. Kudos for the catalog.)

I guess the best way to explain my consternation is "possibilities
unfulfilled."  While I am aggravated with the specific arrangements
for this particular meeting, I am really upset when I think about how
valuable this conference COULD be.  Let me go on.

I believe there is no inherent reason why /usr/group and USENIX should 
be percieved in an adversarial light.  While I am uncompromising in my
insistance on a large, well-organized, technical program at meetings,
I am also keenly interested in the vendor presentations.  I routinely 
have to evaluate new machines and systems for all kinds of reasons:
Department X wants to buy a machine of their own; should the get a
Mumblefrotz 5 like Dept. Y has, or will a Megafoo XV be better for them?
Even given they all run Unix, systems have strengths and weaknesses
and I am asked to evaluate those.  The advantage of a large show like
Uniforum is that under one roof, I can survey a large cross-section
of Unix product offerings, which makes my evaluations easier and more
informed.  Therefore, I am in favor of having a large vendor show
at least once a year, but I also insist on the technical content.

Why can't they seem to get this straight?? I dunno. Maybe the right people
aren't talking to each other. Maybe people don't want to understand
(if this is the case, then the problem is grave).  I wish I did know.

So, what't the point of all this?  I still intend to button-hole /usr/group
and USENIX board members at Uniforum, and I will still complain about
the arrangements for this meeting, but I will also make the point that
the saddest part is there is no rational reason for this apparant mutual
antagonism.

	Reflecting in the flames,
	-Mike O'Dell