Kristofferson@BIONET-20.BIO.NET (David Kristofferson) (03/28/89)
I think that the idea of a Genetic Computing or GENCOM bboard is an
excellent one and, in fact, was discussing just such a proposal with
some colleagues here at BIONET the other day. Besides the topics that
you mention I think that a forum for discussions about various
algorithms and new advances in molecular biology computing could be
invaluable. To some extent the BIO-MATRIX newsgroup touches on this
issue, although my understanding of the Matrix groups goals makes me
believe that this group is primarily interested in biological database
questions and knowledge representation. In this regards GENCOM may
cover a broader area. My fear however is that such a board could be
swamped by more trivial technical support questions, if the function
of the newsgroup is not clear, to the point that specialists in the
field might hesitate to participate. However, one obviously doesn't
know the outcome unless one gives it a chance.
Before calling for a vote on GENCOM I would first like to hear from
Dan Davison, the moderator of the BIO-MATRIX group, as to whether or
not he feels that the above is significantly different from BIO-MATRIX
to warrant a new group or whether a better policy is just to use the
BIO-MATRIX newsgroup for such discussions. BIO-MATRIX is a definite
group of people with a definite set of goals (it originated out of a
workshop held in Santa Fe I believe), so if the MATRIX group is more
focussed than the above proposal, we will open voting on GENCOM.
--
Sincerely,
Dave Kristofferson
BIONET Resource Manager
kristoff@net.bio.net
or kristofferson@bionet-20.bio.net
P.S. - I apologize if anyone got this twice. I encountered a rather
unusual problem during my first attempt to send, and don't believe
that the first copy of the message left our Sun.
-------