bhs@mbunix.mitre.org (Beverly H. Sobelman) (01/17/89)
All, Some time ago I posted a request for data to support our view that natural language interfaces are easier to learn and use than other methods, for use in a presentation I was preparing. This message is not a followup per se, in that I am not as yet posting a summary of responses; it is rather a retraction of some of the wording I had the poor judgement to select regarding the audience for the briefing. Please forgive my taking up bandwidth for this purpose, but I feel it's important to clarify my intent. (hit 'n' now if you don't care...) I don't have the original message available, but it has been brought to my attention that my wording could be (and was) construed as expressing disrespect for the technical capabilities of military personnel. I regret the inappropriateness of my remarks, and stress that my temporary stupidity does *not* in any way reflect the attitudes and views of the MITRE Corporation. We were (and are) looking for actual numbers to back up our claims of the utility of nl, simply because we felt that quantitative results would strengthen and clarify the qualitative discussion we had prepared. Again, I apologize for my earlier insensitivity, and regret any negative feedback it may have caused our sponsors in particular. Thank you, Beverly Sobelman bhs@mbunix.mitre.org The MITRE Corp. Burlington Rd., Bedford, MA