Thus it was written in the epistle of Donna Garverick,
> i understand 'our' frustration but i just don't think that taking out an ad
> is the right thing to do.

Donna, thank you for saying so.

>                            i really do think there would be a downside.
> while we may get all sorts of attention -- will it be the attention that we
> want?  i don't think so.  i think we'd only manage to humiliate (corporate)
> hp...and like i said before i don't think the result will be what we want.

That's also my concern--and why my vote was that an ad, if any, should be
advertising.  I'm still somewhat torn about it because I want to see MPE
receive the attention it deserves, but I think that above all I would like HP
to know us as friends.  I'm afraid that the Confrontational approach is going
to leave us positioned like the frustrated wife, yelling at her husband, "How
come you don't love me any more?"  Sure, he may bring home flowers once or
twice out of guilt, but that'll be about all--and he may eventually leave
completely.

Remember the old saw, "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion
still?"  I contend that we don't really just want HP to mention MPE.  We want
HP to *WANT* to mention MPE.  That's a big difference.  What's kept me quiet up
to this point is that I've no idea how to accomplish that.

> i'm surprised that no one has mentioned asking csy if there is anything we
> could *collaboratively* do to help promote mpe.

Well, I offered our services to Winston in private email, though only
generally, in a "don't hesitate to ask" sort of way that he may well have
written off as politeness.  I think it wouldn't hurt us to make a direct offer.
Likewise, I'd be interested in knowing how he feels about the ad and if he'd
rather we ran it or didn't.

So I'm cc:'ing him on this, with the hopes that he'll feel comfortable
responding to the list.

Sir,
  We've asked HP for specific details on what it will do to ensure the health
of the e3000.  We'd (at least some of us) would like to do something specific
to contribute to that effort.  How can we help/

Thanks,
Ted
--
Ted Ashton ([log in to unmask]), Info Sys, Southern Adventist University
          ==========================================================
Usually mathematicians have to shoot somebody to get this much publicity.
[On the attention he received after finding the flaw in Intel's Pentium chip
in 1994]
                        -- Thomas R. Nicely
          ==========================================================
         Deep thoughts to be found at http://www.southern.edu/~ashted