Greg Cagle wrote:

> Surely you've heard the old aphorism about the best-laid
> plans. I expect
> this won't be the only thing that goes wrong. I'll be onsite all week
> walking around with an ipaq taking notes on what to fix for next year.
> Please feel free to find me and give input - but be prepared to buy
> me a beer 8^).

You're on.

>
> Do you have an issue with Interex being in the conference business?
> I sense a subtext here.
>
> > So, why do you always feel a need to defend Interex?
>
> 1) Because I'm involved in conference planning in a major way for HP
>     World 2003. People have been working extremely hard to assemble
>     this conference for months. This is a very difficult year for
>     a number of reasons that you may or may not be aware of. People
>     are taking a lot of heat for a lot of reasons, and this just
>     adds to the flame.
>
> 2) I defend Interex for the same reason I've been a volunteer for
>     over ten years - because I believe in people working together
>     *constructively* to make a difference, not beating each other
>     up over petty stuff like this.
>
> 3) I will give you the same challenge I've given to Stan and a number
>     of other complainers in the past - if you think you can
> do a better
>     job, please feel free to get involved. This thing doesn't happen
>     by magic or in a vacuum, and we can always use help. But it's
>     a lot of work and pretty much thankless.
>

I certainly respect the work done by the volunteers. I'm a volunteer myself
as co-chair of SIG MPE and vice-chair of the MPE Forum. I'm also a volunteer
on HP3000-L, handing out free advice on HP 3000 problems. In an earlier
life, I helped run several of NECRUG's (North East Central Regional User's
Group) yearly conferences in Atlantic City. Being a volunteer IS a lot of
work and it is mostly a thankless job.

Any beef I have with Interex is with the formal organization and with its
direction (and yes I do vote in every Board election), not with the many
hard-working volunteers such as Craig. Interex long ago lost any claim to
being an independent user group. And while my good friend Denys (Board
member Denys Beauchemin) will again no doubt object, I do believe Interex
has become nothing more than a toady for HPQ. Perhaps this is necessary for
Interex to survive, but I do not have to like it. And, I will continue to
speak out when I think something needs to be said.

John Burke

* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *