[MRIC] A question

Wed Apr 30 11:11:20 EDT 2008

Bob,

The comments you are wondering about are not what I want added to the 
minutes.  As I indicated in the e-mail that I sent to the MRIC reflector 
on April 29, 2008 at 10:22 AM EDT, I will be sending my comments 
regarding Winlink2000 and other digital modes for incorporation into the 
minutes in a separate e-mail that will be clearly identified. 

I agree with you about the record not containing any personal 
admonitions, hence that is why when I send my comments in for 
incorporation with the minutes of the April 26 MRIC meeting, it will be 
clear that they are to be incorporated and they will not require any 
editing.

73,
pat, wb0egr

Bob Long wrote:
> Pat,
>
> Is this what you want in the minutes.  If so I respectfully request 
> that it be boiled down to exactly why you object to WinLink.  Personal 
> admonitions should not be a part of the record of our actions and 
> deliberations.  Your summary would make it easier to include in the 
> minutes with out being edited.
>
> Bob Long,
> EC RO Washington County
>
> Brett,
>
> The point is, just because you did not think it made sense to add 
> information about other digital modes, does not mean you are correct.  
> What some others consider to be important and relevant information 
> about Winlink2000 that has not yet been voiced, was left out  because 
> you, not MRIC, chose to discount what I and the Baltimore County RO 
> had to say about the matter.  Just because a motion was passed at a 
> previous meeting to accept this or that, does not automatically shut 
> the door to additional discussion on it or alternatives at future 
> meetings.
>
> Yes, you might disagree with me on this, and you might even say that I 
> am trying to be argumentative or trying to derail the process (which I 
> am not), but in reality all I, and for that matter the Baltimore 
> County RO are trying to do is bring a reality check into play, be 
> reasonable about what is and what is not affordable when it comes to 
> spending money especially on high ticket items in these tight 
> budgetary times, and keep MRIC from appearing to be just another group 
> of "boys with toys" - especially expensive toys like Winlink2000, and 
> to maintain our credibility.
>
> I personally have nothing against Winlink2000.  However, my 
> thirty-five plus years of experience in amateur radio public service 
> communications in various parts of the United States has taught me to 
> be fairly conservative and to only ask for well established 
> technologies to be embraced by those we serve.  Winlink2000 is, in my 
> opinion, still in it's "toddler stage" of development, and until it 
> reaches its maturity and becomes an affordable and bulletproof 
> technology it should not become a recommended technology to the 
> Emergency Managers Association for full deployment when there are 
> other digital methods of demonstrated reliability that can be deployed 
> with a significantly less expenditure of tight monies.
>
> You appear to believe that we should only present the good about a 
> single technology to the Emergency Managers Association.  I and others 
> believe that we should present the good, and the not-so good and the 
> bad information to the Emergency Managers Association by using full 
> disclosure.  Hence my insistence on Saturday that you capture not only 
> my thoughts about the "in an ideal world" as you described it 
> deployment of Winlink2000, but also others who expressed an opinion 
> that did not agree with yours.  Yes, we could have given you a pie in 
> the sky ideal concept for deployment of Winlink2000 in our 
> jurisdictions, but to us that would have been unrealistic and 
> demonstrated not only to the Emergency Managers Association, but to 
> our Emergency Mangers as well, our irresponsibility on the matter 
> because we know what is and is not realistic for RACES to ask for in 
> terms of funding and that the return on the monies allocated for RACES 
> capital purchases in our jurisdictions will be real from the get go.
>
> Yes, Winlink2000 can support the exchange of e-mail in the event of an 
> internet outage in Maryland.  However, Winlink2000 is still plagued by 
> many bugs and e-mail is not always delivered in a timely manner 
> according to the postings I have seen and continue to see in various 
> Yahoo Groups for users and supporters of Winlink2000.  Winlink2000 has 
> the potential, I repeat, the potential to be of major benefit to our 
> served clients and Emergency Management Jurisdictions WHEN it has 
> matured and become as reliable as other methods of data exchange.  
> Yes, I know that boaters have been using a commercial version of 
> Winlink2000 for several years now, but that is really their only 
> affordable option at the moment to stay connected via e-mail.  It is 
> NOT our only option for ensuring inter-jurisdictional communications 
> and data exchange in times of communication crisis.  Hence, we should 
> not put "all of our apples into one basket" by solely recommending 
> Winlink2000 and ignoring all other digital methods.
>
> As a final thought in this, please do not think that I am trying to 
> challenge you or your intent.  I do believe that your intent is 
> correct.  However, as the old saying goes, "there is more than one way 
> to skin a cat" applies to MRIC also.  Just because you are the 
> Chairman does not mean that you are the head of MRIC nor does it mean 
> that you get to decide which way MRIC will go while you are Chairman.  
> If you do believe that, then you will be quite disappointed and 
> perhaps even disillusioned with amateur radio public service 
> communications.  As I have said many, many times before, when someone 
> comes into this arena, they need to check their ego at the door 
> otherwise there will be an awful lot of hurt feelings because they 
> will wind up taking comments and challenges to issues personally, when 
> the ones making the comments and challenges are not doing so personally.
>
> 73,
> Pat Scolla, wb0egr
> Harford County EC & RO
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> This email list is for the use of RACES Officers and Emergency 
> Managers. Only email related to the Maryland RACES Interoperability 
> Committee (MRIC) of the Maryland Emergency Management Association 
> should be sent to this email reflector list. All emails must be in 
> plain text format (no HTML).
> MRIC mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/mric
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmmain.htm
> Post: mailto:MRIC at mailman.qth.net
>
>