rcd@ico.ISC.COM (Dick Dunn) (02/16/89)
">" is henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer): "> >" is reggie@pdn.nm.paradyne.com (George W. Leach): > > What I would like to see is a wider availability of the Tutorial Notes. > >I know that limited quantities are sold after the tutorial sessions are over > >with. However, they sell out fast... > > The availability of tutorial notes is not necessarily under Usenix's control; > the authors have a large say in it, and often don't want unlimited quantities > distributed. Henry understates it a bit. I did a tutorial in San Diego; the situation is that the author really has *complete* say over how many copies of his notes (if any) may be sold to people who don't take the tutorial. Let me try to explain the problem here, and why the authors may not want to distribute lots of copies. First, you try to put the tutorial together as a whole. The handouts are roughly copies of your transparencies plus any additional material you think the students will want to have afterward to remind them of what went on and to fill in some of the chinks. But the handouts are still only a piece of the whole thing...they omit six hours of verbal presentation! As far as USENIX is concerned, the tutorial is the real thing. The extra notes are ONLY a convenience for people. They're sold at cost, too. I want to put my effort into a presentation for the people who pay a bunch for the (dubious!) privilege of listening to me all day...and I want to make the notes fit as part of that. It's a lot of work to make them also stand by themselves! There are some things that are just easier to explain verbally. After all this, I wonder if asking for greater availability of the notes isn't really the result of a goal-substitution--what do you really want to be able to buy? Is the problem that you can't attend all the tutorials you want to--and if so, is it time or money? Do you really want just written material that you can study at your leisure? If so, maybe there's some way to produce some publications (books, papers, etc.) that would serve the need. -- Dick Dunn UUCP: {ncar,nbires}!ico!rcd (303)449-2870 ...Just say no to mindless dogma.