Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 exptools 1/6/84; site ihlts.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe
From: rjnoe@ihlts.UUCP (Roger Noe)
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: ACM Constitutional Amendment
Message-ID: <378@ihlts.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 29-Feb-84 13:05:30 EST
Article-I.D.: ihlts.378
Posted: Wed Feb 29 13:05:30 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 2-Mar-84 07:39:59 EST
References: <1017@cbosgd.UUCP> <156@ucbopal.CC.Berkeley.ARPA>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 18

>>	If 1/3 of the membership do not care to vote,
>>	the issue is clearly not important enough for the change to occur.

That's a terribly simplistic argument.  ACM has experienced tremendous
growth in recent years and much of the voting membership is no longer
composed of professional computer scientists.  Many of these newer
members simply do not care to vote on ANYTHING.  The issue here is that
ACM has been put in the very difficult position of being unable to govern
itself because it is all but impossible to amend the constitution.
This is not a sign that the people trying to bring about this change
are being selfish at all.  Others can still vote against any proposed
amendment if they care enough to vote.  And that's the whole issue here:
to see to it that ACM continues to be run by the members who really care
about how it is run, not by the mindless inertia of a bunch of apathetic
morons.  Ten percent of the voting membership now is still more than
one-third of it used to be.
	Roger Noe			ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe
	AT&T Bell Laboratories