🚀 go-pugleaf

	I am sorry about the poor performance of the regional symposium
but I have always felt that they were usually run on too much of a shoe-
string budget without enough support for 'big-name' speakers...

	But I respond mainly due to you last line that DECUS is just for
novices or gurus....
	Yes it is very important for novices so we agree there, but for
the mid-level person it is still very important....I have been involved with
the RSX sig for many years and given many,many presentations. I have been 
considered a guru of rsx for several years....Yet I STILL learn things at
DECUS symposia, the contacts of people and friends have helped immensely..
	I still go to symposia NOT to impress the novices but to help. I
spent a lot of time learning, hacking and beating the hell out of RSX and
I remember to previous generation of guru's who helped me....Now I spend
most of my time between U*ix and VMS, and speak RSX mainly to pass it on
to the next generation (and its more fun then my job...)

	But yes, DECUS has been concentrating on the novices lately, but
we held polls for the last 6 national symposia and a full 75% were first-timers
and novices....so you can't ignore them....
	
	Before you give up on DECUS, try the national symposia in San Francisco
and try to meet some of those RSX gurus...we really are nice guys (and except
for the traditional cape which was retired) we don't have THAT big an ego...

-ed cetron
Center for Engineering Design
Univ of Utah...