From jkl@ccl.net Sat Feb  9 23:26:02 1991
Date: Sat, 09 Feb 91 22:47:29 EST
From: jkl@ccl.net
Subject: Previous postings available and commercials on the list
To: chemistry@ccl.net
Status: RO

Dear 400 Computational Chemists from all over the globe, 

Two things,
========= First Thing ==========
Now you can obtain the previous postings to this list by e-mail.
Here is how:
Send an e-mail message to oscpost@ccl.net  or  OSCPOST@OHSTPY.BITNET
The body of your message (not the subject !) should be a single line:
  send help from chemistry
The information will be send to you automatically.

========= Second Thing =========
I wish to raise an issue that is inflamatory but has to be dealt with
explicitly. Namely: Announcements from the commercial software companies on
our list.
The fact of life is that commercial software is used more often than before.
It is used increasingly at academia which is facilitated by substantial
academic discounts. Also, more and more academic software is being commercia-
lized. The reasons for the decline of the free software era are complex.
The fact that commercial packages sell even in case when similar academic
software exists proves that software users assign substantial weight to
software support, maintenance, documentation and training. We all know that
these components are not always adequate with academic packages (and not
always adequate with commercial packages...).

On the other hand, since law is replacing common sense and ethics in our
dealing with intellectual property, many academic packages come to us still
for free (or for a small fee to cover distribution costs) but require us to
sign license agreements. Many of these academic packages are much more
expensive for commercial organizations than for academia to offset cost of
software development. Are they still commercial or academic packages?

Several people told me that they would like to see announcements about
commercial software on the list. They are interested in new releases,
software functionality and scope of applications. Some, on the other hand, 
do not want to see this list interrupted with commercials. Maybe there is some
compromise if we agree on the form and contents of software announcements from
commercial software vendors.

Please send your comments to Jan Labanowski: jkl@ccl.net or JKL@OHSTPY.BITNET
I will summarize your responses, hoping that we can formulate guidelines for
the future postings to this list.

Jan Labanowski
Ohio Supercomputer Center
jkl@ccl.net
JKL@OHSTPY.BITNET


---