🚀 go-pugleaf

 Well......(no pun intended)
    It looks like a federation model rather than a 'close' working
association has been decided on by our friends at National. I agree with
Polekat (Ed Cavazos) that this is in general *a* *good* *thing* and
will free us from the ongoing and often savage debate about the expec-
tations localgroups had from National, if nothing else. 
	My 2 cents: I see National and Jerry Berman doing the critically
needed Congressional lobbying effort, taking advantage of the new VP
Net-advocate's interest in our world, and us as doing... well, what we've
been doing all along. Local workshops, CyberDawgs, setting up local Net-
access systems (bravo to the Austin Fr4eenet organizers and the bold MUD
pioneers) and hitting hard to populate this new arena with people and good
ideas. In ther same manner that the US Congress rarely talks to the 
State Legislature, we will pursue our interests collectively free of the
nagging and perpetual questions of who has to 'clear' what with whom.
    Bravo too to others on thesegroups: organize yourselves as done
in Austin, and you too can cause controversy, defend the innocent, and
have a lot of fun finding out what the faces of the posters on Usenet 
actually look like. Plus, have a lot of fun.
	I look forweard to hanging out at the sysop liability conf.
Jan 31 with y'all, and all out-of-Texas 'ers who can make it.
    Clearly, there has been a lot going on behind the scenes that we in Texas,
at least, let alone the others on thesegroups, have not been privy to.
It's intetresting also that only now do we see MKapor on here responding.
Mitch, we know you're a busy guy, but a word from you now and then works wonders.
I think we should all recognize that we have a common interest and dedication,
no matter who has ruffled whose feathers. Kudos and a big Tedxas welcome
to Jerry Berman and fig in their new roles; now we can put misunderstandings
about expectations and 'status' on hold wile we address the huge amount of
work to be done. Opinions may differ, but we know what we have to do.
I'd like to get a more formal legal network going, as well as launch
the Texas legislative lobbying effort that Smoot and I and others dis-
cussed way back at the organizational cyberdawg in July 1991.
   National has clearly put us in the driver's seat about our own pro-
jects: let's get busy. 
   See y'all at the sysop liability conf!
       And, friends, thanks for doing all this, for caring about it, and
for being who you are.    
      NEXT POST: TCP/IP accounts assigned at birth: Why Not?

Regards,
blivion@taronga.com
blivion@nuchat.sccsi.com
:wq