Scheme pre-R6RS Workshop at ICFP - Call for Participation

[Kent Pitman <kmp@harlequin.com>]

   Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 09:17:04 -0500 (CDT)
   From: Matthew Flatt <mflatt@cs.rice.edu>

   A Scheme workshop will be held in conjunction with ICFP in Baltimore,
   September 26, 1998. The workshop will focus on possible extensons and
   modifications to Scheme, and it is open to everyone.

   Richard Kelsey is organizing the workshop, and he is now accepting
   strawman proposals for R6RS additions and ammendments.  For more
   information, see:
    http://www.neci.nj.nec.com/homepages/kelsey/workshop.html

I don't mean to suggest people shouldn't talk about Scheme or anything,
but...

Why isn't this a Scheme Authors meeting?  When was the last Scheme
Authors meeting?  Will there ever be another?

By what authority does one of us accept strawman proposals for R6RS
additions?  Can I decide to have a meeting at a nearby Burger King and
accept strawman proposals from anyone who comes?  Put a different
way--why aren't we just open for proposals generally--do people have
to come to a meeting to make a proposal?  And if we ARE open to
proposals generally, what is the semantic value of associating said
openness with this workshop other than to make it confusingly appear
that by going to the meeting you'll have a better chance of influencing
things or that by missing the meeting you'll miss your chance to influence
things?  

By this I mean no personal disrespect to Richard nor am I ascribing
ulterior motives to him.  (And I appreciate seeing this meeting is open
to all, as I recall at least one past meeting of this kind that was not.)
I am honestly just trying to understand the dynamics of this group
and its relation to external meetings of this kind.

Why are those who are not the "authors" being more proactive about
this language than those who are?  If this were an actual "authors
meeting", I would surely make an attempt to go.  If it's just some
random workshop, I may have better things to do.  Are we likely to
have an authors meeting ever again?  I keep waiting for one.  And I
think we are hurt by not having one.  Even CL, which did most of its
design online, had occasional in-person meetings to re-synch
personalities; to allow people "hallway time" to discuss things, hear
concerns; and to get a sense that at least for a moment now and then
everyone was all on one page about what release goals were.

Why is it that the first and perhaps only planning I hear for R6RS
that comes to the authors' group comes in the form of an EXTERNAL
event that only barely seems to seek to invite the authors.  (Yes, I
know, this is a second or third notice--not really a first notice--but
you know what I mean: there was no prior discussion on rrrs-authors
about the event, about whether to have an authors' meeting, etc.)

Sign me:
 Confused about Process in Boston