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"Team Ada: Ada Advocacy Issues (83 & 95)" <[log in to unmask]>
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Michael Feldman <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 27 Aug 2000 15:36:43 -0700
Reply-To:
David Botton <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:
From:
David Botton <[log in to unmask]>
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--- Michael Feldman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> As for the SIGAda talk, specifically which talk?
> Have you contacted the
> speaker to bring him or her up to date?

The speaker was aware, but it is unimportant. I was
only pointing out that I find in the small community
we have that there is small effort to bring together
the scarce resources we have and that there seems to
be reluctance on the acceptance of “new” things in to
the camp. If I was burning up from the incident, I
certainly would have said something at least privately
to that individual (I’ve never been called shy).

> AdaPower is a great website, but I don't remember
> David's asking
> anyone's permission to set up yet another site

Actually, I did ask. Before I created AdaPower (or at
that time the Ada Source Code Treasury), I first
posted messages on comp.lang.ada about it (no one
directed me to Team-Ada to ask there also, and I was
still new to the scene). EVERY step of AdaPower’s
growth has been directly through community involvement
and requested or perceived need.

> instead of building
> it as a section of (say) SIGAda, which already has a
> large site at
> ACM and would, I'm sure, have hosted this one. I
> think the same goes
> for AdaIC/ARA.

My idea, and yours as expressed to me once in an
e-mail (funny you should use this argument here), is
that there should be many different Ada sites. I have
always believed that having additional _functioning_
Ada web sites gives a larger impression of our
community living and growing (AdaHome has been dead
for many years now and a site to take its place in the
eye of the public was very badly needed, thus The Ada
Source Code Treasury became AdaPower). AdaPower was
born from need and with much discussion. Mostly on
comp.lang.ada, although some things have been born out
from the Team-Ada list, and now frequently from its
various chat boards and e-mail lists.

> SIGAda and ARA are the two biggest Ada organizations
> (at least in the
> US), but obviously cannot (and probably should not)
> prevent others
> from setting up their own websites.

Unlike AdaPower, I never saw advertisements on the
SigAda site for people to set up shop their own sites
and services. Perhaps if I had in those days seen such
an advertisement, I would have considered it. Neither
site has ever to my knowledge tried to prevent others
from creating websites, but neither have they
encouraged it or supported it.

I am hardly a rebel. I am and have been a member of
SigAda (and ACM for that matter) and certainly
encourage others to join. I wouldn’t be doing
tutorials and a talk for bubkis if not my belief in
strengthening the organization and community as a
whole.

AdaPower is not an organization. It is a resource for
Ada Developers. It is an important complement to
SigAda and I doubt any one would like to see it go
away soon.

> Anyway, let's all try to publicize the resources we
> have as widely
> as we can. That's the most that can be expected.

Exactly and all that is expected :-)

> Nobody is in charge
> of this community; I don't think we'd want it any
> other way. (In a
> sense, the government used to think it was "in
> charge" of Ada - did
> that help?)

In charge no, but I would like to see SigAda take more
of a leadership role in not just advertising Ada to
the out side world, but with in the Ada community
(on-line and off). There are many great public Ada
projects going on, a little time spent seeing who are
the movers and shakers (ie. the future) and recruiting
them and their ideas would be time well spent. Things
are changing and it would be good for SigAda to be on
top of it.

Being relatively new to SigAda and SigAda ‘99, I spent
most of my time observing how things worked. I admit
that I am still in the dark about SigAda operations
and organization even after being a member for two
years now. Basic stuff, like when are elections held,
general meetings, how do workgroups work and operate.
None of this is up on the SigAda web site. I am
certainly willing to work at improving things as much
in the organization as I have out of the organization.
Is there a list where SigAda discussions take place? I
certainly would have joined it long ago.

David Botton


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