From withers@ceri.memphis.edu Thu Jun  8 15:16:48 2000
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 05:25:02 -0500 (CDT)
From: Mitchell M. Withers <withers@ceri.memphis.edu>
To: earthw-list@nmt.edu
Subject: EW Community Center


Seems there are several problems with the earthworm community and I
propose a Community Center to address them.

1) The Earthworm Advisory Board is impotent.  Besides we have greater
   need for a mechansism for experienced wormers to provide assistance
   to others.

2) Earthworm Central appears to some to be cliquish and unresponsive.
   In fact, it is a well-tuned team that we shouldn't try to fix
   and they are much too overwhelmed with tasks from their supervisors
   to be responsive to the entire, growing community.  We need the
   community to be responsive to the community.  Tasks desired by
   the community can get community volunteers to do them rather than
   let these tasks fall off the end of earthworm central's todo list.

3) No more splinter groups please.  Gnu doesn't have splinter groups
   and neither should we.  Splinter groups are equivalent to wasted
   redundant resources and we all lose.

4) Documentation is annoyingly incomplete or wrong.  So stop whining
   about it and submit better documentation to the Community Center.
   Then we'll check it and fold it into the official release.

5) Earthworm doesn't do what I want.  I need CSS or SEGY format data.
   So stop whining about it, write a subroutine, and submit it to
   the community center.  It will be checked, then, if appropriate
   incorporated into the official release or a contributed directory.
   But keep in mind that if it is a module to process Yack grunts for
   earthquake prediction in Diego Garcia, then it is unlikely others
   will want it nor will it clutter the official release.

6) Too many sponges and not enough contributors.  That's partly because
   you gotta be in the clique to contribute.  Let's open it up and
   contribute to the Community Center.

7) This implies that the Community Center will have "counselers."  If
   your code stinks, or doesn't follow the rules, or requires rewriting
   tons of other modules and libraries, don't expect it to get put in
   an official release and don't get offended.  Just try it again. You
   will be at the mercy of the "counselers."

8) Beats me how this is going to work, but using the earthw-list more is
   a start.

Mitch Withers
Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI)
University of Memphis                Ph: 901-678-4940
Memphis, TN 38152                   Fax: 901-678-4734



