Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    Nice idea, but I bet it gets squashed by corporate...
    
    Not to long ago I got involved in writing a story that sprang out of
    the FELINE:: notes file. We had intended to have the story published
    in one of the cat mags (kitty comix?).
    
    Because it mentioned Digital and it's products we ran the article thru
    P.R. To make the story short, the last I heard is they didn't care to
    be mentioned because some stock-holder may get upset we were using
    corporate resources for personal reasons. Yes, I know these conferences
    have the corporate blessing but I'm simply relaying the story as best
    I know it...
    
    ...hate to be a wet blanket but be prepared for disappointment.
    
    Try anyhow...
    
    Edd

You don't have to mention DEC or anything similar.  Just explain that at
a certain company with a worldwide computer network there is a midi forum.
That is all that is necessary.  Of course, phrase it a bit better than I did.

Chad

sho_gives_permission_to_reprint_anything_ive_said_in_commusic_as_long_as
_i_myself_remain_faceless

I wouldn't even say that it is a company resournce. Why not just say that you 
are an active participant of an international electronic billboard. No further 
info need be given.

As far as notes go, I suggest that it may be best to get permission from the 
author of such notes before publishing them elsewhere. It may be a pain, but 
it could save you a LOT of hassles later on, and also seems like the 'right 
thing to do'.

Alan S.
not_an_expert-just_an_opinion

>how to (or should it?) avoid specific mention of DIGITAL ?  

    From a corporate standpoint, it should not mention Digital.  Like Edd
    said, some stockholders think that personal endeavors mean less bux for
    them and whine.  Images and all that rot...

    Anyway, any specific references to DEC would need to be deleted, as
    would node names, usernames, personal addresses, etc.  You'd also have
    to watch "personal names" to make certain there weren't any
    (non-)arcane references to future products. 

>how could one explain the existence of a worldwide WAN without
>discussing its topology and DECnet capability ? 

    Like has been mentioned earlier, just don't say anything about it. We
    have a worldwide WAN with "sophisticated bulletin board software" which
    allows us to have "personal interest newsgroups" or something along
    those lines. 
    
>if, as I'd like to, I included extracts of particularly informative or
>funny reply exchanges, how could that be done without identifying the
>contributors ? 

    It would *have* to be done, as such headers would give away the
    software (unless that's an objective).  It is against corporate policy,
    I believe, to make internal NODE::USERNAME combinations available to
    the outside world.

    Perhaps you could use an EDT or TECO macro to reformat headers? It
    shouldn't be too hard to whip one up.  And like I said ealier, you'll
    want to come up with some username -> alias table to ensure employee
    anonymity.  Just do string subs in the text you've extracted.  Again,
    make sure no names &/or addresses are contained in any postings. 

>do YOU have any thoughts as to 
>    	a.	should it be written at all
>    	b. 	specificity (?) about DEC and noter identities
>    	c.	.............

    I don't know what the music comix is ... but I think that you should
    make certain that you've read PP&P for dissemination of internal
    information.  Given the new policies (viz, *I* am responsible for this
    conference), good judgement would be appreciated.

    I, too, think this conference is quite invaluable, and would be very
    interesting to relate to "outsiders" (as I've done verbally many times
    in the past).  The problem is in the *printing*. 

-b

    I would check with legal.  I expect that everything written in this
    conference is owned by Digital.
    Tom
    Copyright 1989 Thomas E. Janzen

    Let me be the devil's advocate...
    
    When I did the FELINE story, I purposely only made vague reference to
    an "international electronic bulletin board". The first thing the 
    publisher did was return the story and requested more details (where,
    who, what...) about the bulletin board. That's when the story headed 
    for legal, P.R., etc...
    
    It's now been back and forth 2-3 times as "corporate opinion" and 
    editorial whimsy changed...
    
    Don't expect the story to be accepted without many requests for change
    from the editor, and realize that the editor's wants don't always line
    up with DEC's...
                                                 
    Edd

	Do what they do on TV: docu-fiction.  You can synthesize the
	network as the product of a faceless multi-national corporation. 
	The look-up table to cross-reference your character's names with
	the original notes authors is a good idea. 

	Devil's advocate time: publish every thing straight off the wire
	under a pseudonym!  It's only a job, right? 

	Are you going to change the names of the products referenced
	also? 

	/s/ 
	John_who_believes_in_truth_without_regard_for_stockholder_fantasies

    If I see anything I wrote under someone else's name, I will try to find
    a cheap lawyer.
    Tom

><<< Note 2157.8 by VIKING::JANZEN "cf. ANT::CIRCUITS,ANT::UWAVES" >>>
>    If I see anything I wrote under someone else's name, I will try to find
>    a cheap lawyer.  Tom
    
    I'll be sure to misquote you accurately.
    
    ---------------
    Brad, the 'Music Comix' are Keyboard, EM, Music Technology, KCS, and
    others.
    
    ---------------
    Actually, I'm intimidated by the task of talking about Commusic without
    specifically mentioning DEC, the Easynet, or VAXnotes.  It would be so
    watered down as to be pretty meaningless.  
    
    karl

re:.7

    If I see anything I wrote under someone else's name, I will try to find
    a cheap lawyer.
    John

	Sounded like a challenge to me...

    
    re .8
    
    >If I see anything I wrote under someone else's name, I will try to
    >find a cheap lawyer.
    
    If you wrote it under someone elses name, how will he know its yours?
    :^) :^)
    
    Ralph
    
    

    The moderator conference basically said the same things we did here
    (goto PSA, etc).  Also mentioned some silly boy who was trying extract
    something from the FELINE conference.... 

    Edd sure gets around, eh?

-b

    
    If I see anyone I note under someone elses lawyer, I will try to find a
    cheap bottle.
    
    
    	-Bill