Laws@SRI-AI.ARPA (10/12/83)
From: Ken Laws <Laws@SRI-AI.ARPA>
There have been a couple of net.ai requests lately that seminar
notices be dropped, plus a strong request that they be
continued. I would like to make a clear policy statement
on this matter. Anyone who wishes to discuss it further
may write to AIList-Request@SRI-AI; I will attempt to
compile opinions or moderate the disscussion in a reasonable
manner.
Strictly speaking, AIList seldom prints "seminar notices".
Rather, it prints abstracts of AI-related talks. The abstract
is the primary item; the fact that the speaker is graduating
or out "selling" is secondary; and the possibility that AIList
readers might attend is tertiary. I try to distribute the
notices in a timely fashion, but responses to my original
query were two-to-one in favor of the abstracts even when the
talk had already been given.
The abstracts have been heavily weighted in favor of the
Bay Area; some readers have taken this to be provincialism.
Instead, it is simply the case that Stanford, Hewlett-Packard,
and occasionally SRI are the only sources available to me
that provide abstracts. Other sources would be welcome.
In the event that too many abstracts become available, I will
institute rigorous screening criteria. I do not feel the need
to do so at this time. I have passed up database, math, and CS
abstracts because they are outside the general AI and data
analysis domain of AIList; others might disagree. I have
included some borderline seminars because they were the first
of a series; I felt that the series itself was worth publicizing.
I can't please all of the people all of the time, but your feedback
is welcome to help me keep on course. At present, I regard the
abstracts to be one of AIList's strengths.
-- Ken Laws