Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 8/7/84; site plus5.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!plus5!hokey From: hokey@plus5.UUCP (Hokey) Newsgroups: net.lang.c Subject: Re: C and ANSI Standard Message-ID: <385@plus5.UUCP> Date: Sat, 18-Aug-84 02:08:52 EDT Article-I.D.: plus5.385 Posted: Sat Aug 18 02:08:52 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 19-Aug-84 02:25:55 EDT References: <12468@sri-arpa.UUCP> Organization: Plus Five Computer Services, St. Louis Lines: 40 Pardon me for jumping in without being aware of the context, but I am a voting member of both the ANSI UNIX standards committee as well as the ANSI MUMPS committee (X11.1). *PLEASE* don't wait until the standards committee proposes a draft. If you have an idea or a complaint, make yourself heard *NOW*. In my experience on both committees, the proposed standards are sent out after everybody has agreed on what the standard *will* be. I took a poll on the preferred method of file locking under Unix before the Salt Lake City meeting. The results of the poll were to implement something other than the proposed standard (I will publish these to the net Real Soon Now). The other folks on the committee said "Too late, we've already submitted the standard. Besides, if people wanted something else, they should have spoken up earlier." The experience was quite infuriating, so I haven't posted the results of the survey yet. Understand that the difficult issues are the center of great intellectual *or* emotional debate. Sooner or later the committee gets sick and tired of debating the issues and makes decisions. These issues are *not* easy to reopen, as there is a lot of pressure to get the standard out as soon as possible. Since the ANSI committees are not well funded, nobody really wants to reprint the proposals, as the new ones must be resent to a lot of people. I have suggested for a year and a half that the UNIX standards discussions be held on the net. I was amazed that there was so much resistance to the idea. The committee felt that access to the net by committee members was not as widespread as it should be. As far as I was concerned, if an individual or organization is interested in the UNIX Standard, and they are willing to send individuals to meetings, the cost of a modem (if one doesn't exist on-site already) is trivial. Net connections are easy! The discussions could be held in a moderated group, to avoid the problems of general net traffic. People at the SLC meeting decided to give the net a try for the UNIX Standards discussions. How much discusson have you seen? Please forgive the digression. My point, again, is to let yourself be heard before it is too late. You will have to live with the results. -- Hokey ..ihnp4!plus5!hokey 314-725-9492