Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!sgiblab!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!MathWorks.Com!uhog.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!fredm
From: fredm@media.mit.edu (Fred G Martin)
Subject: Re: BEAM Solar Engine "offer" apology
Message-ID: <1994Jan28.151022.9816@news.media.mit.edu>
Sender: news@news.media.mit.edu (USENET News System)
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory
References: <CKA2H8.Ew3@cuug.ab.ca>
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 15:10:22 GMT
Lines: 53


In article <CKA2H8.Ew3@cuug.ab.ca> hrynkiwd@cuug.ab.ca (Dave Hrynkiw)
writes:

> Hi all.
>        It's been brought to my attention that my "Pre-BEAM Olympics" offer
>for a Solar Engine Component Kit & Instruction Guide crossed that fine line
>between information & commercialism.

I wholeheartedly disagree!  I don't know who must have wrote to you,
Dave, but I think your post was perfectly okay, and if nothing else,
this matter should be open for group discussion.  We roboticists still
have are pretty small community, and this Internet group is an
important channel of communication.  How else are we all going to
learn of your endeavor if not through net-news?
 
I mean, let's be realistic here.  As Internet expands, many of us are
probably not thrilled with the stream of blatantly commercial
advertising from people running their own "Joe's PC Component Supply
House" business over the net.  But Dave's little solar-roller gig can
hardly be placed in the same category!  There's not too many of us who
would be interested in this, so why not let Dave reach us through this
channel?   As he said himself:
 
>        Sorry, that was not my intention.  I was just trying to make it
>easier for hobbiests to get a hold of a complete kit & instruction guide.
>Them solar cells & HBS's can be difficult to find!
 
If you people who complained about Dave's ad want to force him to
place classified in hobbyist robotics magazines (Nuts & Volts comes to
mind), you will probably kill this little enterprise in its infancy.
It's only because of net-news that projects like the Mini Board and
the 6.270 Board got off the ground.  Sure, if Dave is successful and
makes enough money to pay for his time (not easy to do on a low margin
operation like this), then maybe the business can afford traditional
advertising (ala Mondo-tronics' muscle wires), but give the guy a
break, it's for the benefit of us all!
 
>        Even tho, it still crossed that line.  Sorry - won't post another
>advert again.
 
Dave, I hope you reconsider, and I also hope that this letter might
provoke a discussion on this group and perhaps a consensus of some
kind.  I guess it's obvious from the tone of this letter, but I'm
pretty angry that some people evidently felt the need to step on Dave
and quash his project.  We should be looking out for one another, not
getting on our high horse and yelling at someone who is trying to make
a little money while offering a service that enriches all of our work.
 
        -Fred
 
Fred Martin | fredm@media.mit.edu | (617) 253-5108 | 20 Ames St. Rm. E15-320
Epistemology and Learning Group, MIT Media Lab     | Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
