[HPCC-Conf] do not go gentle

[Tony Duell]

> Sorry, the question wasn't intended to be "loaded".  I seriously want to =
> know the answer.  You see, all these years I've thought that these =
> "conferences" were gatherings of an INTERNATIONAL club founded by =
> Richard Nelson (PPC), hosted by a pseudo-random city each year for two =

Ah, that could explain a lot.

I am going to state things as I understand them, could people please 
(politely) correct any facts that I've got wrong.

The UK club was founded 20 years ago, and was then called PPC(UK). There 
are plenty of things with that name on them in the current HPCC library, 
for example.

At that time, I believe that the UK club was a 'chapter' of PPC which was 
an interntional club.

However, over 10 years go (I am not sure of the exact date, only that it 
happened before I joined the UK club, which was in 1992), the UK club 
changed its name to HPCC. I believe at this point, it became an 
independant club [1] not a chapter of any other club.

[1] I mean independant of PPC, CHHU, etc. AFAIK we've always been 
independant of HP.

HPCC is, of course, an international club with members from many 
countries. And that's how it should be. 

So as I understand it, the recent conference was, at least on paper, an 
HPCC, not a US-club event. Of course members of all clubs -- and in fact, 
the general public -- were welcome to attend.

However, if this was an HPCC event, then IMHO there was no reason why it 
had to be organised and run in the same way as US conferences. It should 
have been run the way that many of the HPCC committee members wished to 
run it. 

[...]

> BUT... I started to get the distinct impression that HHC 2002 was not =
> like that at all, but was in actuality just a well-publicised meeting of =
> the London "chapter", held by them FOR themselves, and to which people =

Two corrections, IMHO. Firstly, HPCC is not a 'London' club, for all we 
hold meetings in London (we'd also hold them elsewhere if there was 
sufficient interest, it has happeend in the past). Secondly, HPCC is not, 
as far as I am aware, a chapter of any other club.

> who were not members of THAT CHAPTER were begrudgingly invited, and at =
> best *tolerated* like some kind of Unwanted Outsiders.  Since every =

You jest, surely. If anything, it was the locals who were made to feel 
unwanted.

> So I asked.  Was HHC 2002 an INTERNATIONAL conference HOSTED by HPCC, or =
> was it an HPCC meeting which some non-members paid to observe?
> 
> I still haven't gotten a clear answer, by the way.  The answer, of =
> course, to be acceptable, would have to be consistent with the mind of =
> the entire organizing committee of HHC 2002.  Anything else is merely =

I would like to know, too. It could explain an awful lot....

-tony