🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <janet.699693589@dunnart>, janet@cs.uwa.oz.au (Janet Jackson) writes:
> [I am posting this to aus.auug as well as sending it to auugn@munnari.oz.au.]
> 
> AUUGN vol 12 no 16 (Dec 1991) arrived on my desk today, 4 March 1992.
> Among other things, it contains a preliminary announcement and call for
> papers for the summer conferences, some of which have already been held,
> a book club discount that has expired, and a President's report talking
> about member benefits.
> 
> The Editorial apologises for the delay and talks about the difficulties of
> getting promised articles.

If you also took time to read what was posted to aus.auug at the end of
February you would realise why AUUGN was delayed even further than anticipated.
The problems with Prentice Hall have also been discussed in a different
article.

The other articles that are "out of date" were either included in the
previous edition and/or were well publicised on the net.  Further while
it may be true that some of the meetings have already happened, there are
some that have not.  (How could the Presidents report be out of date?)

> Since I am the editor of YAUN* (WAUG's** much slimmer newsletter) this
> inspires me to expound my philosophy on newsletter deadlines.
> 
> A newsletter, by definition, is meant to distribute to the members
> *news* about the organisation's activities, especially upcoming ones.
> There is no use in news if it is out-of-date.

Would you prefer if we called it a technical journal?  While it may be
true that YAUN is the only means that WAUG uses to disseminate news to its
members, AUUGN is only one method used by AUUG.  More often than not it
is used as a method to report on the outcome of activities.

> My approach with YAUN is that it comes out on time, no matter what.  If
> promised articles do not materialise in time that's too bad.  If the members
> are not prepared to contribute to their newsletter, it will be thin, containing
> WAUG news and information but no articles other than the one or two I may have
> time to write or reprint.  Timely news is too important to the members to be
> sacrificed in favour of articles.  Unfortunately I get the impression that
> this has happened in the latest AUUGN.

While that may be your approach with YAUN, there have been numerous
complaints in the past about the lack of local content in AUUGN.  It
appears that AUUG members want to see such things, and so I have a
responsibility to attempt to satisfy their requests.  Certainly there is
a problem with where to draw the line with delays.  Do I reject
something if it is going to arrive the day after the deadline, how about
a week late?

Janet, seeing you have so much time to edit and also write articles for YAUN,
why don't you also write a regular column on WAUG activities for AUUGN.

> Janet Jackson
> <janet@cs.uwa.edu.au>
> Department of Computer Science
> The University of Western Australia
> 
> *Yet Another Unix Newsletter.
> **Western Australian Unix systems Group.

Finally, Janet, as editor of such a newsletter, you more than anyone should
be aware that all you ever receive for such a job is critisism, never
any positive comments.

							Jagoda Crawford
							AUUGN Editor