Chris Rice stated:
 
snip ...
> Or yet...  why should the user group support the HP3000 when the
> HP3000 users don't want to even get involved??   I have been the
> conference coordinator for 2 years for NOWRUG (Washington State)
> and it is almost impossible to get HP3000 speakers. We always end up
> getting speakers from HP, almost never from a user.
snip ...
 
I am sorry to hear that NOWRUG has trouble getting HP3000 speakers who
are not HP employees themselves.  I feel lucky that MARUG (Mid-Atlantic
Regional Users Group) happens to get excellent speakers, both HP and
non-HP.  It helps that we have HP representation on the MARUG board as
well as other notable people who spend a great deal of time and effort
contacting and cajoling people to come speak at MARUG's meetings.  Chris'
comment concerning the recalcitrance of everyone except HP to speak at
NOWRUG has caused me to reflect on comments which have passed through
this mailing list over the past few weeks.
 
This forum (the HP3000-l listserv) is wonderful in that it allows us to
air our concerns about our 'beloved' platform with others who share our
circumstance, whether they agree or disagree with our assertions.  It has
become quite evident, through reading this and other notable threads,
that we all share some concern with HP's longterm interest in the HP3000.
 However, I do want to take pause for a minute to underscore HP's
positive role in HP3000 user community; this includes direct support of
day-to-day problems, attendance at and support of local user's groups (as
noted by Chris), and even their participation in this list.  I agree with
the ongoing sentiment that the HP3000 seems to be getting less
'publishing' than its sibling, the HP9000, but for the sake of balance, I
feel it is important to occassionally remember the huge effort that HP
exerts on behalf of the HP3000 user base.
 
Thank you for listening ...
 
Billy Rowland