This is a copy of the original message posted to the Old AirSoob list, when AirSIG was founded. It explains the who/why/what/where/when of our beginnings, so it's placed here for historical and informational reasons. NOTE: For instructions on how to join at the present time, see the file: WelcomeToAirSIG.txt The Janitor To: airsoob@interstice.com Subject: SOOB: NEW Group Forming: AirSIG Annoucement From: garfield@pilgrimhouse.com (Garfield) Date: Wed, 08 Oct 1997 20:42:16 -0700 Yup, you read that right. And yup, it's me again. Sheesh, just when you thot you were rid of me! Hee hee. I guess I was mistaken when I said I was permanently gone. But honest, I'm just back for a brief announcement: A new PRIVATE by-invitation-only group has been formed, called AirSIG (Special Interest Group). The founders are the following: Roger Enns Reiner Hoffmann/STRATUS Don Stewart Steve Crow Stephen D. Sharp Garfield Willis Terry Mortimore The focus of this new group will be pretty much the same as AirSoob, with the exception of an occasional discussion of newNupcoming engines that might look promising. The primary difference will be that the new list will afford a measure of privacy and shelter from wandering "stars" dropping in on us and insisting on "illuminating" us with their agendas, attitudes, or egos. I can tell you that this IS viewed by the founders as yet another eXperiment; what we're hoping to create is a better environment that can fulfill the original charter of AirSoob without the attendant zoo-like dynamic that has so often plagued a public forum like AirSoob. Hence, several of the founders have expressed their interest in remaining with AirSoob as well, to help it succeed, if that is possible. What we have here is a real live horse race of "environments", similar to the kinds of things we all must face trying with our engines in order to find "what works". Now, none of us liked the "snooty" sound of by-invitation-only, but the only other alternative was like a hanger that had no doors, and anyone could come in and scratch the paint on our airplanes with their belt buckles. So we decided we needed a gatekeeper. The founders are that gatekeeper, who serve as a council with the ability to "uninvite" someone that proves to be a disruptive influence. They also are responsible for screening folks that request to join. How this is done is someone wanting to join submits a request to subscribe, along with a short "letter of introduction", explaining his interest in the group's focus, namely Soobs, once more with feeling, "SOOBS". This isn't an infallible means of excluding bad apples, but if someone were to candidly say "Uh, well I'm heavy into chevies, and I think you Soob guys need me to straighten you out", I gather you can guess what the outcome of that would be? Another example might be, someone says "I'm tired of hearing from designers, builders, and wanabees, mere armchair folks who haven't 'arrived' yet; I just wanna talk to folks who've already finished their planes and are actually flying them?". Well, that person probably wouldn't be happy here on AirSIG either. He'd better stay with AirSoob. Now, for the vast majority of the present AirSoob subscribers, these qualifications are a given, so if you're on the present AirSoob, you are pretty much by default welcome to join the new list, with some obvious exceptions. How this is going to be handled in practice for present members of AirSoob, is that you will send me an email (I'm currently the AirSIG janitor-at-large) with the SUBJECT (not the body of the message) saying: AirSIG? Just that and nothing more in the subject. I will know that this means you want more info on how to join. (P.S. If you're not a current/past member of AirSoob, don't bother trying this shortcut. We're gonna check your email address. Heh. New folks not former AirSoob members will need to submit their "introduction" or be sponsored by an existing list member). OK, so no message is required, unless you want to comment on this auspicious occasion. Any especially encouraging remarks I'll forward on to the founders. Unless you have some reason to suspect your request "might" be denied due to some past behavior patterns or known agendas, you can assume that you will be joined. Now, don't get paranoid about this; we're not tryna make this hard, OK? We want the door to be thrown wide open to fellow Soob afficionadoes, both budding and confirmed, as well as intrepid eXperimentors, we just don't wanna throw the door totally away, ifyagetmedrift. OK, now for a time line. This announcement is going out on Wed eve. Many of us will be at Copperstate until Mon next. I expect that the requests for info would be stacking up in my mailbox while I'm gone, and upon my return, the group will be launched on Mon/Tues of next week. It may take a couple days to get everybody interested joined up, but the intent is to have the list fully operational by Tues. There is a "digest" form of the list, and an archive as well, just like AirSoob, so if you get in late by a day or two, you won't have any trouble catching up. In addition, there is already in place a fairly large FTP site for instant upload/downloads of graphics or other big ole files like all-in-one archive files, so a swift dropbox mechanism is part of the environment (thanks due to Don Stewart for creating the model of this via his own website's dropbox). BTW, all the list mechanisms are already in place and tested, so all that's needed is for us all to come back next Mon/Tues and turn the lights on. See ya there! Viva AirSIG!! OK, remember, if you wanna be joined to the new AirSIG group, email me a message with the subject saying no more nor less than: AirSIG? I'll send you back instructions on how the group functions, and all the pertinents, when I return from Copper. Gar P.S. Now a short word about me. I can tell you that none of the other founders had planned this new list, nor did I when I bailed from AirSoob. But I CAN tell you that ALL of us had it "in mind", if in no other way than the seed thought, "hey, maybe there's a better way to do this sorta thing". When I SNAPPED, and departed the list, after a couple days, the words of my father kept buggin me: "If someone hands you a lemon; make lemonaide". Well, I consider the long history of sad events on AirSoob to be those lemons, that were experienced by all the founders, and now we are about to MAKE LEMONAIDE! I invite you to come and see if you aren't refreshed. It may be a utopian fantasy, but it's a do-able eXperiment, and seems to us to be worth giving it a go.