Bizarre Story

[Dick Gabriel <RPG@SAIL.Stanford.EDU>]

Yes, it is quite bizarre, but you get to read about it while I get to live
it.  The Common Lisp group tried to think of ways of trademarking ``Lisp''
or ``Common Lisp'' but we are way, way too late.

The only point to my story is that X3J13 can provide a safe haven
from Scheme getting involved in its own mess with standardization, strange
as that suggestion might sound. Essentially we can expand X3J13 to cover
Lisp/Scheme, form a subcommittee, and forget that subcommittee ever existed
(unless you want to standardize, in which case you can make your own schedule).
This would protect you from IEEE, and you can forget about the politics. If you
don't do this, someone can start an IEEE group without your consent and
press ahead in a haphazard way. Maybe you'll be able to stall or whatever
with IEEE, but I can guarantee you can stall forever with X3J13.

Hey, I want to save Scheme from all of this mess, and this looks like
the best way to me.

			-rpg-