IMPORTANT! - DISCUSSION ON THE FUTURE...

[Foteos Macrides]

>There seems to be some Internet/BITNET network trouble going on today.
>Fote told me by phone that he sent his posting already, but nothing
>has shown up here yet a few hours later.  Please wait for the arrival
>of his response before joining the discussion on the BIONEWS
>restructuring.  Thanks!
>
>Dave Kristofferson

        Hi.  Our link is back up and all the messages have been received.

        I applaud Dave's decision to pursue reorganization of this forum
according to principles of participatory democracy.

        I have no Partican Argument to add in favor of Plan B, per se.

        If Plans A, B and C come to be referred to as "Dave's plan," "Fote's
plan," and "The Straw Person's plan," respectively, I presume I can also speak
for Dave in saying that we understand this is a mnemonic device, and that no
personal criticism will be inferred (I can't speak on behalf of The Straw
Person 8-).

        As a bench biologist who has come to feel critically dependent on
continuation of the bionet/BIOSCI forums, I conducted an experiment which
may be relevant to your considerations of these, and hopefully even better,
reorganization plans.


HYPOTHESIS:  Dave does not lust for power, and can be influenced by friendly,
             level-headed, rational arguments.

                                METHODS

        I pummelled him with e-mail concerning as good an alternative plan as
I could think of, and on the importance of subjecting the plans to a fair and
unbiased vote.

                                RESULTS

        On Day 1, I received prompt e-mail responses from Dave with
understandable (and characteristically long-winded 8-) justifications of his
position.

        On Day 2, our INTERBIT gateway went down, and he kept calling me
personally on the phone to make sure I felt he was proceeding with a public
discussion and vote in a fair and unbiased manner.

                                CONCLUSION

        The hypothesis was fully validated.

                                DISCUSSION

        Though I personally have no serious opposition to Plan A, I still feel
uneasy about it.  I suspect that this type of experiment would be replicated,
again, and again, and again, and again, often by much less friendly and
understanding people, in conjunction with differences of opinion about exactly
what constitutes an announcement of broad interest to biologists.

        Sometimes it is very difficult to distinguish whether you are validily
standing up for principles you hold dear, or just cutting off your nose to
spite your face.  Sometimes, ya just gotta do the one, risk the other, and
hope for the best.

                        Respectfully submitted,

                                Fote

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 Foteos Macrides           Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology
 MACRIDES at WFEB2.BITNET     222 Maple Avenue, Shrewsbury, MA 01545
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