My apologies

[FRENCHC@aspen.uml.edu]

The following information may be relevant to the ongoing
discussion I started when I posted course announcements on this
list server.  The courses described are offered by EG&G as a
not-for-profit training program for Reynold's Electrical and
Engineering Company, Inc.  The instructor's fees are fixed and do
not depend on the number of attendees at these courses. 
Therefore, the only people who will benefit from this posting are
those who want to attend but may not have been aware of them. 
The "adder" for non-DOE attendees are for overhead costs incurred
by EG&G in offering this program.  EG&G invite outside people to
attend these courses to reduce the cost for training their
personnel.

We normally advertise in the Health Physics Newsletter for all of
the professional courses we teach.  The contract for these
particular courses was completed too late for the announcement to
appear in the November issue.  I took it upon myself to post
these course announcements on this list server knowing that many
of the subscribers might be interested in these courses and
knowing that many health physicists in the "DOE" family are
subscribers.  EG&G shares no blame for this decision, it was mine
alone.  It didn't occur to me that some might find this
offensive.  My intent was to provide a service, especially for
DOE employees who can attend the courses at a significantly lower
cost than they would pay if they were taking these courses
outside of EG&G.  My apologies to those who objected to my
announcement.

I have mixed feelings about whether course announcements are
appropriate on this network.  I think there are differences in
internet servers that are based on professional interests
compared to those that may appeal to the general public.  I do
not find unsolicited advertisements offensive when I receive them
on the job especially if they relate to my work.  I do find them
a nuisance when they fill my home mail box.  I would find them
appealing if I were to receive discounts on the advertised
product for being a subscriber to a special network!

As a new subscriber to this list server, it would have been
helpful if some guidelines were given in the reply to my
subscription with respect to what information is considered
inappropriate.  I am not looking for regulations, because the
beauty of the internet is the absence of censorship.  I think the
reactions to my announcements have been constructive and will be
a benefit to the subscribers.  I am impressed with how active
this network is and it will take more than a few offensive
messages to get me to cancel my subscription (provided I don't
get kicked off).

Clay French