🚀 go-pugleaf

fenner@postscript.cs.psu.edu (Bill Fenner) writes:
>The problem here is that there is an understanding gap.  It seems that Dave's
>position is that the people who are getting the newsgroup through the gateways
>that, for some unknown reason, are not going to change the name of the
>newsgroup they're gatewaying, are being left behind.

That's correct, but not complete. Let me present some calm points
(for a change). I claim all of the following to be my position. My position
is subject to change based on new data or arguments. 

Given:

1) As a direct result of the name change, r.m.s lost some good people. 
2) As a direct result of the name change, r.m.s lost the ability to be
distributed through at least one gateway.
3) I found the vote to adhere to the letter of the guidelines but not the
spirit of them. It has been admitted in this thread that the voter population
was skewed unfairly against the constituents of r.m.s...however the skewing
was not against the guidelines. 

My position is then:

1) The r.m.s issue should be revoted upon. (An RFD is sitting in Mr. 
Lawrence's mailbox.)
2) Blind adherence to an incomplete guidelines set is alienating many net 
users. This issue needs to be addressed.
3) Voting procedures should not assume that lack of responsiveness is due
to chosen ignorance. There are many new net users. This issue needs to 
be addressed. Revotes, in particular, need to be allowed. 
4) The entire procedure of renaming and removing groups needs to be
addressed so that the issue is made as clear as is humanly possible to
the constituents of existing groups.

Again, this position is subject to change. I don't pretend to be inflexible,
but I will admit to stubborness.

>start gatewaying the new group.  Dave: if the gateways switch, so that everyone
>still has the same access to the group, then do you still have a beef with it?

As I've said above, yes. However, I realize that everyone here is burning out 
on these flames, and there's a lot of people who'd just as soon see me drop 
this entire issue. My compromise is to only answer the more rational posts 
from here on in such as yours. Everyone else take this to email.

I will continue to champion the issue of r.m.s. and I am working on changes 
to the guidelines as we flame. I do not intend to drop this issue at all. 
-- 
Dave Hayes - Network & Communications Engineering - JPL / NASA - Pasadena CA
dave@elxr.jpl.nasa.gov       dave@jato.jpl.nasa.gov         ...usc!elroy!dxh

   A man appointed to be judge has been killed without a knife.