🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <WEX.90Jul19173122@dali.pws.bull.com> wex@dali.pws.bull.com (Buckaroo Banzai) writes:
>In article <JANSSEN.90Jul18175044@holmes.parc.xerox.com> janssen@parc.xerox.com (Bill Janssen) writes:
>   The willingness to consider a "pencilled-in" appointment might be
>   stronger than we think.  What if we could see "scheduled events", which
>   we have not committed to, on our calendar?
>
>Someone sent me email with a similar suggestion.  I don't think this would
>work because it would lead to the person who scheduled the meeting having
>too high a degree of uncertainty.  She'd have to go around and ask everyone
>whether they were coming or not.  This would lead to a huge decrease in the
>value of the information on the system which would lead to people stopping
>using it.
>
>I think.

Standard computer science problem!  ;-)

You need a "two phase commit" algorithm:

Manager:  (type, type) schedule meeting for 3PM Wednesday if 8 of the
          following 10 can attend and commit by 5 this afternoon.

Emps0-9:  Oho!  3PM Wed., huh?  Well, I can/cannot make it - (type)

System:  9 agreed in time, meeting scheduled, promise of minutes to
         those not attending, note to manager meeting is on, note to
         emps0-9, meeting is on.

That way, nobody gets a calendar item without a chance to say yes/no,
manager knows whom to expect and can still cancel if critical person
is missing, when item is posted to calendars, it is anticipated and
causes less "ego damage", human intervention can help prevent scheduling
conflicting items while the meeting question is open.

I think methods along these lines can remove most of the objections,
and closely parallel the manager going around asking her staff "can
you do a meeting at 3 Wednesday", and then making a second pass to
say "we have a quorum, the meeting is on."

The space in the calendar should be held open between "I can attend"
and "the meeting is on" of course, with a warning but no lock on the 
time in the period before the "I can attend" response has been given.

Comments?

Kent, the man from xanth.
<xanthian@Zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> <xanthian@well.sf.ca.us>