Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!ICDC.LLNL.GOV!OBERMAN
From: OBERMAN@ICDC.LLNL.GOV ("Kevin Oberman, LLNL, 422-6955", 415)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: RE: DECUS asked us to put this here
Message-ID: <8807080517.AA07797@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 6 Jul 88 15:30:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 45

>Received: by ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (5.59/1.28) id AA01549; Thu, 5 May 88 13:10:23
> PDT
>Received: from USENET by ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU with netnews for
> info-vax@kl.sri.com (info-vax@kl.sri.com) (contact usenet@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU
> if you have questions)
>Date: 18 Apr 88 19:04:19 GMT

First off, where the **** did this message disappear to? It was mailed back
on APRIL 18 and arrived at UCBVAX on July 5. I think US Snail is gfaster
than that.

Ray's experiences with DECUS are so totally at variance with my own that
I am completely baffled to understand them.

The NLO pays for both printing and mailing costs for newsletters. In fact,
the form to apply for this is included in the standard LUG re-licensing
package each year. It SPECIFICLY asks how many newsletters are planned for
the year and the cost of printing and mailing of each. Not a whole lot of
`talking into' there.

Never have I received any `warning' about having presentations on other
companies products, although the local DEC sales people don't look too happy
when EMC2 is in talking about memory. We do insist that the presentations
remain technical and not be sales pitches, but this has never caused any
of the third party sales people any problem.  They just pull any slides
with pricing or other non-technical information and go ahead. And, the idea
that DEC has special rights is also not supported by the NLO. A LUG is not
an arm of Digital sales. While the charter gives DEC special rights to run
exhibits at symposia, it doesn't make any special rights as regards the
LUG. In fact, the NLO, at sessions on LUG organization at US Symposia has
made a big point that a LUG must NOT allow DEC sales people to use the LUG
as a sales office.

My concern is that Ray received this totally inaccurate information from
someone in the DECUS office. Clearly they are not quoting the correct
information and I would hate to see other local groups leave the national
organization because someone at the national DECUS office didn't know what
he/she was talking about.

					R. Kevin Oberman
					Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
					Internet: oberman@icdc.llnl.gov
   					(415) 422-6955

Disclaimer: Don't take this too seriously. I just like to improve my typing
and probably don't really know anything useful about anything.