Vince Pitelka on wed 3 apr 96
Judith -
You missed out, although I don't know how the breakfast you attended went.
It's hard to imagine that it could have been more exciting than our Clayart
gathering, which was a wonderful experience. Several people have commented
on-line about the breakfast, but no one has really covered it, so I'll give it
a shot.
It was a real pleasure seeing all those faces and connecting them with names
and on-line personalities. Russel exaggerated a little when he said that Carla
and I kissed and made up, although we certainly said hello and smiled at each
other many times during the conference. I hope I'm not assuming too much if I
consider that some kind of a truce.
The real highlight of the breakfast was when everyone present introduced
themselves, and many people made a few comments about their experiences with
the list. It was evident how passionate everyone feels about this group.
Another highlight was Joe Molinaro's little talk about the history of the list
and about the role of the moderator and list protocol. I hope he won't mind if
I relate some of the things he said. Paula introduced him almost immediately,
before any other introductions had taken place. At one point he was talking
about his role as moderator, and about the kinds of messages he does not pass
on to the list - including advertising, sexually explicit material (some were
dissappointed), etc. - and suddenly he asked "Are Carla and Vince here?" We
both acknowledged that we were, and to my surprise he said that he had returned
a number of postings scolding Carla and me for conducting such a debate on the
list. In Joe's words: "Such debates are ENTIRELY appropriate for the list." I
think everyone agrees that there is a unique bond between list members, and
that we will go a long way to help each other out, but that does not mean that
we cannot disagree, even passionately.
It was interesting to hear from Joe how this list has grown in the last 2 1/2
years. Quite a few of the "old guard" (sorry) who have stuck with it
throughout that short period were present. Joe explained how he had to really
push people to get the list rolling at the beginning, but then it took off
faster than he ever could have expected. He expressed his concern about
clogging up the list unnecessarily, now that the number of daily messages (he
reads every one of them) is growing so rapidly. One of the best examples of
"unnecessary clogging" was regarding people who respond to a long message and
reprint the entire original message.
Paula Sibrack was visably nervous about whether there would be enough food and
enough room, and about collecting money from people at all. I think that all
in attendance would unanimously agree that she was a marvelous host, that she
performed a wonderful service for all of us, and that it was an incredible
bargain for all we got out of it. Paula, thank you so much. As I think I
mentioned in an earlier post, you are now the official Clayart Breakfast
Chairperson.
I can't even begin to relate comments from individual people, because I would
no doubt leave out some of the best ones. If anyone else remembers highlights
which I have missed, please post them.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka - wkp0067@tntech.edu
Appalachian Center for Crafts - Tennessee Technological University
Smithville, TN
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