Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 11:36:27 -0700
Mr. Rod Welch
rowelch@attglobal.net
The Welch Company
440 Davis Court #1602
San Francisco, CA 94111 2496
| Subject: | SDS Proposal from Paul |
Rod,
[Here are comments on a proposal submitted by Paul Fernhout, and your analysis of Paul's ideas, submitted to me by your letter on June 1, 2000...]
You should write down (For your use only) what are the things you are willing to give up, and what you expect to get in return. None of that is here in the record. The only thing I see is a use of the data base to check out Pauls tool. I don't yet see what you get in return. Can you articulate it for me?
You should consider that to a highly technical person, you will be viewed as a novice programmer. Your value added is mostly in the years of analysis contained in the data base. Most bright programmers have spend most of their life organizing data. They create structures, and bind data together to cause computers to do something with the data. You need to think through what the programmer will perceive as your value. Is it the years of typing you have done in creating the SDS records, is it the links, or is it the concepts of linking.
I suggest the concept of linking is well known. The links make some sense, but there is no earth shaking concepts there to a programmer. The amount of analysis is something that most programmers don't do. They will see this as real value added, but will have a problem translating the analysis to a SW tool or product.
This is an obstacle for you in that the programmers will believe they could create an SDS system if they wanted to, and they will feel if you did your "Analysis" in "Their" system, you would get the same result. You are very arrogant in stating that it couldn't be done without SDS, but others do not share this view.
You need to figure out how to transition the analysis work to a SW product that others believe brings something significant to the world. Remember, that to most of the world, that SDS is an editor, and most of the world has an editor they know and love. Programmers are the worst at loving editors, and thinking only theirs is the best. Many programmers use EMACS which is an editor with more macro power than you can possibly believe. (You can write compilers in the macros, it uses LISP, an AI list processing language).
I suggest you find our more about Pauls product, and understand where he is heading. The tough question you should deal with is can the "analysis" be done in another system. Yes, you will need a way to link records, and hot keys would be nice, but the basic SDS function could be performed in many systems. The half way point will only be reached if both sides compromise. If you want to get a SW person to really engage, you may have to compromise and see if you can adapt another system to perform analysis and retrieval. This may be hard for you, but I suggest taking a look. With that in mind, I suggest you look into bringing SDS capabilities into Paul's system. Yes, it may be different, but it should still work.
One of the things you need to seriously consider, is how easy is any system you are contemplating look to a new Novice user. (That's what all your customers will be during the first 30 days). Plan for a progression in terms of menus, hot keys, and etc to an expert user. Despite your love for multiple keystrokes, and a keyboard people don't have any more, you will find that it is awful for a Novice user. Look at these other systems, and see if they are also only usable by someone who is a master programmer (This is a real industry problem).
Sincerely,
Cable Network Operation
Morris E. Jones
Business Unit Manager
morris.jones@intel.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Rod Welch [mailto:rowelch@attglobal.net]
Sent: Monday, June 05, 2000 1:33 PM
To: Jones, Morris E.
| Subject: |
SDS Proposal from Paul |
Morris,
Here is the record so far thinking about Paul's proposal. I have not yet put it on the web because I am not ready for other people to review it, and evidently a number of people are checking the site periodically. This is a confidentiality issue we need to work on. Of course I will send Paul a regular letter summarizing the big issues, and that is what I would like to address. I know this is a lot of detail, but, if you have time, it would help to get your suggestions...
Thanks.
Rod
DIARY: June 1, 2000 02:40 PM Thursday; Rod Welch
Letter from Paul Fernhout with proposal on SDS.
1...Summary/Objective
2...SDS Provides Helpful Development Path for Knowledge Management
.....Multiple Windows Overwhelms Span of Attention
.....Knowledge Space Hard to Navigate Because Many Windows Open
..........Intelligence May Lead to Knowledge to Solve World Problem
3...Navigation Aids (Map) Can Enhance SDS on the Internet
....Search Capability for SDS on the Internet
.......Paul's Work Supports "Story" as Central to Learning
4...Privacy, Confidentiality, Security Need More Work in SDS
5...Email Improved by SDS Webmail
6...Proposal for Navigation, Interaction Tools for SDS on Internet
7...Paul cites negative forces against the proposal...
8...Friendly forces favoring the proposal...
9...Paul requests ideas on what makes sense.
ACTION ITEMS.................. Click here to comment!
1...It would help to get an example showing a different method
2...Seems like there are settings that control whether links open
3...Possibly Paul could provide a link to an example, provide a
4...Comment...
5...Need example of what Paul has in mind about email-hypertext
6...Need explanation of how proprietary interest would be affected
SUBJECTS Alliances Windows Open For Links Confusing Fernhout Commends SDS for Knowledge Management Links Open in Same Not Multiple Windows, 000601 0807 - Summary/Objective 0808 - 080801 - Follow up ref SDS 87 0000, ref SDS 86 0000. 080802 - 080803 - Paul has reviewed Communication Metrics and SDS record on the web. He 080804 - likes some features, but reports problem of getting confused by having 080805 - too many links open at the same time. ref SDS 0 0894 He proposes 080806 - developing an open source solution based on his Pointrel Data 080807 - Repository system. ref SDS 0 0035 080808 - 080809 - Sent interim response saying I will contact him in a few days. 080810 - 080823 - 080824 - 080825 - 0809 - 0810 - 0811 - Progress 0812 - 081201 - 081202 - SDS Provides Helpful Development Path for Knowledge Management 081203 - 081204 - Received ref DRT 1 0001 from Paul Fernhout, a contributor to the DKR 081205 - project Doug Engelbart has underway, meeting at SRI. 081206 - 081207 - Paul indicates having reviewed Welchco home page explaining 081208 - Communication Metrics, and he reviewed SDS records on the web. He is 081209 - favorably impressed, as planned in porting SDS to the web on 971021. 081210 - ref SDS 7 3636 Is he impressed with SDS, or with the analysis and record you have created? 081211 - 081212 - Paul cites review of his letter on 000405 that explained data 081213 - structures for the DKR, ref SDS 65 3705, which was cited recently on 081214 - 000524 discussing his Pointrel Data Repository system. ref SDS 90 3240 081215 - Paul notes today that he would have liked to have been notified of 081216 - analysis on 000405 in order to comment. ref DRT 1 0713 081217 - 081218 - Paul appreciated review of his Pointrel Data Repository system, which 081219 - he described in a letter to Eric Armstrong, ref DRT 1 2924, submitted 081220 - on 000524. ref SDS 90 0783, 081221 - You are gaining points for good note taking and analysis. How can you transition this to a partnership? Can you explain what are the requirements for effective analysis? Perhaps, the number of keys, and ease of use are important. You should consider novice to expert users, and see if there is a usage map that can be explained to a programmer. 081222 - 081223 - 081224 - Multiple Windows Overwhelms Span of Attention 081225 - Knowledge Space Hard to Navigate Because Many Windows Open 081226 - 081227 - Paul agrees that SDS on the Internet is hard to navigate, cited by 081228 - Eric Armstrong on 000405, ref SDS 65 4823, and most recently in a 081229 - meeting at Intel on 000517. ref SDS 88 5184, and by others 081230 - beginning on 970712. ref SDS 9 6804 and 970824. ref SDS 10 4920 081231 - 081232 - Paul says today the problem is Welchco packs so much information 081233 - and links together that it demonstrates the weakness of HTML-based 081234 - hypertext for handling complex data. In short, HTML is designed 081235 - for one view of data -- but with complex data you often want to 081236 - view the same data but in different ways depending on your search 081237 - motivation or level of understanding (e.g. introduction, overview, 081238 - tutorial, thread following, subject based). ref DRT 1 1584 081239 - 081240 - It would help to get an example showing a different method 081241 - solves the problem. 081242 - 081243 - He explains the problem as "... right now I have about 081244 - twenty Netscape windows open from trying to follow various topical 081245 - threads via links on Welchco. There is so much interesting content 081246 - I lose track of why I opened each window, or which window links 081247 - back to a previous topic. Browses also provide limited context of 081248 - just exactly what on the page is linked to. ref DRT 1 6630 Dave 081249 - Buoncristiani cited problem on 990419. ref SDS 12 2601 On 990426 081250 - Morris wanted a system to "prioritize" links. ref SDS 13 0558 081251 - Good problem to solve. The real issue is in the analysis, and the implied history in the current document. This is a presence of mind problem when someone new comes into the record. To get the same history you have, I would have to traverse the entire record, and it would take way too much time. There is no way to know which set of links to trace, and very quickly, the number of tracked links exceeds the attention span. This is a problem you should consider and look for a way to address it. 081252 - 081253 - Intelligence May Lead to Knowledge to Solve World Problem 081254 - 081255 - In one sense, Paul is submitting information, and this 081256 - record strives to convert it into helpful "intelligence." 081257 - 081258 - Paul's comment about having multiple windows open suggests a 081259 - partial solution to the problem. 081260 - 081261 - Seems like there are settings that control whether links open 081262 - in the same or in multiple windows. There is for the OS, but 081263 - cannot find anything on this for Netscape and IE. For 081264 - example System Management (also called My Computer) has a 081265 - Tools menu that controls opening directories in multiple or 081266 - the same window. Cannot find this for IE and Netscape. 081267 - 081268 - 081269 - 081270 - 0813 - SUBJECTS SDS Improvements, GUI Internet, Web, HTML 1005 - 100501 - 100502 - Navigation Aids (Map) Can Enhance SDS on the Internet 100503 - 100504 - Paul sets out improvements or features he would like in the SDS 100505 - environment on the Internet... 100506 - 100507 - [...below he proposes a solution. ref SDS 0 0035 I have no idea what this refers to ! 100508 - 100509 - . ways to have meta-navigation information (threads I am 100510 - following), ref DRT 1 5544, 100511 - 100512 - Comment... 100513 - 100514 - This is an important objective, if I understand Paul's point 100515 - correctly, he is addressing the problem cited above. ref SDS 0 100516 - 0894 Everybody wants a "map" to navigate SDS records, as 100517 - reported by Morris on 990426, ref SDS 13 1100, and 000427. 100518 - ref SDS 14 8159 100519 - 100520 - SDS supports the ability to think, remember and communicate in a 100521 - number of ways which are not available on the web, and which 100522 - might be considered "meta-navigation," but in any case have 100523 - proven to be helpful.... 100524 - 100525 - 1. Description of the record provides orientation on subject 100526 - and purpose. 100527 - 100528 - Not sure if Paul has noticed that the date and record 100529 - description are in the title bar at the top of the browser 100530 - to provide orientation of sequence, per work on 990218. 100531 - ref SDS 11 2972 100532 - 100533 - 2. Contacts associated with the record do the same thing. 100534 - 100535 - 3. Date and time of the record, per discussion of sequence on 100536 - 991014. ref SDS 19 5600 100537 - 100538 - 4. Narrative in the record tells a story of cause and effect 100539 - that is easier to remember than mere data and information, 100540 - per review on 900303. ref SDS 1 3016 100541 - 100542 - 5. Related records and documents, such as a letter, book, or 100543 - other work product provide a rich array of pointers. 100544 - 100545 - 6. Headings provide clues about the subject at hand, applying 100546 - the concept of summary explained in POIMS. ref OF 1 8316 100547 - 100548 - 7. Subjects assigned to one or more paragraphs - from 1 to 30 100549 - or more provide structure to context and epistemology. 100550 - 100551 - . meta-hypertext (outlines and labeled trees/webs), ref DRT 1 100552 - 1150, 100553 - 100554 - Comment... 100555 - 100556 - Just guessing, but may be part of points 1 - 6 above, and we are 100557 - calling it something different, maybe "summary," "headings" and 100558 - "organic subject structure," that provides both relational and 100559 - hierarchical relationships. Would be interesting to review this 100560 - idea in more depth. 100561 - 100562 - Possibly Paul could provide a link to an example, provide a 100563 - mock up, and/or explain this requirement. 100564 - 100565 - 100566 - 1006 - SUBJECTS Map Needed for Linked Web Pages Search Engine Needed for SDS on the Internet Subject Search 1206 - 120601 - 120602 - Search Capability for SDS on the Internet 120603 - 120604 - 120605 - . searchability (for say the word "Pointrel"), and, ref DRT 1 2440 120606 - 120607 - Comment... 120608 - 120609 - This is a central feature of SDS using an organic subject 120610 - structure, and other methods. It is fairly complex per 120611 - discussion with Morris on 970116. ref SDS 6 1732 Porting this 120612 - method to the web was part of a proposed to NSF on 990615, 120613 - ref SDS 18 3844, denied on 991213. ref SDS 20 0001 120614 - 120615 - There is an argument that such capability is not needed since 120616 - the purpose of the record on the Internet is to facilitate, yet 120617 - maintain control, of communicating, in the same way one decides 120618 - what to say, and what not to say, to people. Thus, there is an 120619 - inherent conflict with privacy and security objectives by 120620 - empowering others to investigate another person's knowledge 120621 - base. 120622 - 120623 - Still, there seems to be a great interest in this feature, so it 120624 - has commercial potential, per Morris' request on 000427 cited 120625 - above. ref SDS 14 5624 120626 - 120627 - We have to remember, that SDS records are not like looking up 120628 - something in the encyclopedia where everything is intended for 120629 - everybody. With SDS we give people the power to create and 120630 - maintain an encyclopedia of their lives and organizations, and 120631 - to share what they wish to share, when and with whom they wish 120632 - to share it, within the meaning of... 120633 - 120634 - 120635 - clear, concise, complete communication 120636 - 120637 - 120638 - ...developed on 000630. ref SDS 5 1643 120639 - 120640 - It may be possible to balance privacy, and sill give people a 120641 - sense of searchability on that part of the record that is 120642 - intended to be disclosed to them. 120643 - 120644 - Actually, this is easily done with SDS already. 120645 - 120646 - We download stuff and it becomes part of our record. We don't 120647 - try to download stuff people don't send us in order to maintain 120648 - accountability for giving notice. For example, Paul sent me a 120649 - letter with certain information. I do not have an overwhelming 120650 - desire to search all of his letters. I only want to search the 120651 - letters and related information he directs to my attention. If I 120652 - am given wider access, my liability for taking responsible 120653 - action greatly expands, and I do not have time to review it all. 120654 - 120655 - . ways to "pivot" around a concept (i.e. see all related 120656 - information to say "Pointrel" -- all pages that link to related 120657 - documents, and all pages that it links to. For example, my 120658 - product "StoryHarp", ref DRT 1 1056 120659 - 120660 - 120661 - 120661 - http://www.kurtz-fernhout.com/StoryHarp/screens.htm 120662 - 120663 - 120664 - ...allows pivoting around a "node" in its browser window.) 120665 - 120667 - 120668 - Paul's Work Supports "Story" as Central to Learning 120669 - 120670 - Briefly looked at Paul's web site. It shows powerful tools that 120671 - may help navigate the SDS organic subject structure, among other 120672 - things. 120673 - 120674 - A big potential nexus between Paul's work and SDS is that both 120675 - are geared toward the notion of "story" as a foundation to 120676 - learning, reviewed on 900303. ref SDS 1 3016 120677 - 120678 - SDS provides "pivot" capability in a lot of unique and helpful 120679 - ways that are not available to people on the web, because the 120680 - purpose of delivering "intelligence," is different from using 120681 - SDS to lift the capacity to think, remember and communicate. 120682 - 120683 - For marketing, would like to present SDS in the professional 120684 - quality windows Paul's web site shows. This would entail a 120685 - deeper level of collaboration than seems to be contemplated by 120686 - Paul's initial proposal today. ref SDS 0 0837 120687 - 120688 - 120689 - Paul further comments that many of the limitations he experiences 120690 - using SDS records on the Internet, per above, could be construed as 120691 - limitations of the HTML browser he is using, i.e., Netscape, not 120692 - Welchco, Communication Metrics, or SDS. ref DRT 1 5775 120693 - 120694 - Comment... 120695 - 120696 - See idea above about changing settings to open links in the same 120697 - window. ref SDS 0 0852 120698 - 120699 - The most helpful thing about Paul's letter is that he is aware 120700 - of SDS and Communication Metrics, and seems comfortable using 120701 - these in communications. 120702 - 120703 - 120704 - 120705 - 1208 - SUBJECTS Concepts Security and Privacy, SDS Records SDS Features Security, Privacy Privacy Suppress Record Text Segments from Publication on Web Webmail, 980329 Webmail Reduces Errors Web Mail Permits Correcting Mistakes 1809 - 180901 - 180902 - Privacy, Confidentiality, Security Need More Work in SDS 180903 - Email Improved by SDS Webmail 180904 - 180905 - Paul indicates that features like... 180906 - 180907 - . privacy and 180908 - 180909 - . email hypertext integration/replication 180910 - 180911 - ...require changes to SDS. ref DRT 1 1968 180912 - 180913 - Comment... 180914 - 180915 - Privacy, security, confidentiality have been given consideration 180916 - in SDS, but more is needed for some situations. 180917 - 180918 - The problem of the message not getting through, however, dwarfs 180919 - concern about the wrong people snooping around in the record. 180920 - People with experience using SDS records can safely conclude 180921 - that a lot of records need to be reviewed in order to get the 180922 - picture, and getting only half or a quarter of the picture, 180923 - which snooping tends to do, leads to incorrect understanding, 180924 - and so is of no help. 180925 - 180926 - With that understanding, we definitely want ways to step up 180927 - privacy when desired. 180928 - 180929 - Need example of what Paul has in mind about email hypertext 180930 - integration/replication. What is going to be integrated and 180931 - replicated and how will this improve the work? 180932 - 180933 - Right now we can provide webmail that integrates correspondence 180934 - into the context of Knowledge Space to provide... 180935 - 180936 - 180937 - clear, concise, complete communication 180938 - 180939 - 180940 - ..., explained on 960620. ref SDS 5 1643 Would be very helpful 180941 - if Paul can advance this objective. 180942 - 180943 - 1810 - SUBJECTS Fernhout, Paul, 000601 Open Source Advantages Enhancements by Many People Map Needed to Maintain Focus 2106 - 210601 - 210602 - Proposal for Navigation, Interaction Tools for SDS on Internet 210603 - 210604 - Paul proposes to improve SDS presentation and searchability on the 210605 - web, and notes potential for snags in reaching agreement for a common 210606 - effort on issue of Intellectual Property (IP), which seems to be 210607 - related to the Open Source discussion. 210608 - 210609 - Paul proposes the following... 210610 - 210611 - . He downloads all the contact on Welchco.com using a site grabber 210612 - program in Python. ref DRT 1 2200 210613 - 210614 - Comment 210615 - 210616 - Depending on the scope of any eventual project, the record 210617 - could be provided to Paul directly. 210618 - 210619 - As well, it is helpful to develop a means for people to "grab" 210620 - information from the web and integrate it into their own view of 210621 - the world, where they can "think" about it with their own tools, 210622 - which they control within the meaning of "knowledge management." 210623 - That is how SDS is used now, and it may be what Paul has in 210624 - mind, and so of course a project would need to create and test 210625 - this capability. 210626 - 210627 - Such an effort would be an "SDS" project. I don't see how this is an SDS project. I see it as him simply grabbing and analyzing the links, etc in your data base. 210628 - 210629 - Alternatively, we could leave SDS alone, and simply create an 210630 - intermediate capability for only viewing and organizing the 210631 - record, since not everyone has the time to perform knowledge 210632 - management, per se, and also do real estate, law, medicine, 210633 - science, manage a business, and so on. 210634 - How does leaving it alone help with the acceptance problem you have. I think you need to deliver the ability in a nicer way. 210635 - This is a pretty big issue that people tend to rush by, because 210636 - they have no experience doing KM day-to-day. KM and in my 210637 - parlance Communication Metrics is a new work discipline, that 210638 - compliments accounting, marketing, engineering, facilities, law, 210639 - operations, and so on. We need one kind, or level, of special 210640 - tool for "expert" practitioners, like CPM is a specialized tool 210641 - for project management, and lessor tools for people who use and 210642 - interact with work product of KM. 210643 - 210644 - Paul seems to be thinking about a project to create intermediate 210645 - support tools. 210646 - 210647 - . He creates a Python program that parses the HTML and puts it 210648 - into a Pointrel data repository, complete with links modeling 210649 - relationships. ref DRT 1 1152 210650 - 210651 - Question 210652 - 210653 - We leave the SDS record as is, so people can use it in that 210654 - form, if desired. You are the only one that cares? (Not sure yet). A better presentation form that will work for the Novice to expert user can be a big help. 210655 - 210656 - Paul provides additional capability to process the record 210657 - into an alternate format that provides solutions to the 210658 - problems he discusses above??? 210659 - 210660 - . He creates a browser in Python that supports search, 210661 - meta-information, limited (easily defeatable) privacy, and 210662 - pivoting over that knowledge base. ref DRT 1 3744 210663 - 210664 - Question 210665 - 210666 - Is this browser transparent to the User in the sense that 210667 - it is part of existing ways and means of using stuff on the 210668 - web, generally Netscape and IE, or is it something people 210669 - have to call specifically to implement this new capability? 210670 - 210671 - I guess I am asking if there is an added step for this that 210672 - might reduce the desire to use the system, relative to 210673 - other work people are doing? 210674 - 210675 - Alternatively, Paul may have in mind creating a new standard 210676 - for browsers which provide sufficient self-evident added 210677 - value that people would move to the new tool?? 210678 - 210679 - . [Optional] I create Python tools to allow adding new materials 210680 - and exporting repository materials to HTML. ref DRT 1 6175 210681 - 210682 - Question 210683 - 210684 - Need explanation of a scenario where this might be applied. 210685 - 210686 - Suppose someone encounters this record on the web. 210687 - 210688 - One idea Paul may have in mind is the ability to grab up 210689 - this record and insert comments, as I am doing now, which 210690 - then makes it the users record, not the originators, and it 210691 - can be linked to the originator, both ways, if desired. 210692 - 210693 - This sounds useful, but people have to realize that the 210694 - environment gets very complicated very quickly. We need to 210695 - think through how to avoid overwhelming span of attention. 210696 - 210697 - . [Optional] I integrate this with a mail reader and sender. 210698 - ref DRT 1 0950 210699 - 210700 - Question 210701 - 210702 - Need explanation of a scenario where this might be applied. 210703 - 210704 - . [Optional] I modify Zope to serve Welchco content from a 210705 - repository [not static HTML], ref DRT 1 1740 210706 - 210707 - Question 210708 - 210709 - Need explanation of a scenario where this might be applied. 210710 - 210711 - . The content remains yours, and is either returned to you in a 210712 - Pointrel repository or better as a set of Python tools you can 210713 - use to build your own repository from your site. [Optional: 210714 - Maybe you let me keep a copy for additional local testing, not 210715 - to be redistributed without your permission.], ref DRT 1 2982 210716 - 210717 - Comment 210718 - 210719 - I do not understand what Paul has in mind on this point. 210720 - 210721 - Ultimately, the purpose of the record is to guide action. 210722 - 210723 - Just thinking out loud, I write up a record in order to 210724 - understand this or that, and develop planning for doing 210725 - things. I send parts of the record to different people to 210726 - get them to do things. They may use the record I send as 210727 - part of something then send me to influence my conduct, 210728 - and/or they may combine my communication with stuff from 210729 - others with the aim of influencing 3rd parties to do 210730 - unrelated stuff. But, everybody is not interested, nor 210731 - needs to know about everything everybody else is up to. 210732 - 210733 - We need to think this through carefully. 210734 - 210735 - . The resulting Python code is put under the same license as 210736 - Pointrel is now (X/MIT) [or maybe instead GPL or LGPL.]. 210737 - ref DRT 1 2922 210738 - 210739 - Comment 210740 - 210741 - This may work out well, if I am understanding correctly that 210742 - the original code for generating the record as the core 210743 - engine of KM and Enterprise Management is SDS. 210744 - 210745 - SDS entails a counterintuitive process that not everybody 210746 - grasps. 210747 - 210748 - What Paul is proposing is a means for people to use the 210749 - record in ways they do grasp, i.e., I see a record, I 210750 - comment on a record, as with current email, but with added 210751 - ability to create links. 210752 - 210753 - . So, you share your experience doing Knowledge Management with 210754 - hypertext, especially the great example you have produced with 210755 - Welchco, and I share my experience with data repositories and 210756 - GUIs -- and at the end there is an open source result. 210757 - ref DRT 1 1770 210758 - 210759 - Comment 210760 - 210761 - This seems doable, possibly providing a path for wider 210762 - cooperation. 210763 - 210764 - SDS is proprietary, but offers a development path for useful 210765 - open source efforts, such as Paul proposes for SDS work 210766 - product on the web, as set out on 000503. ref SDS 75 6903 In 210767 - the same way that Paul uses a computer, car, desk and other 210768 - tools to support open source development, SDS is another tool 210769 - he can use for creating open source programs. 210770 - 210771 - Additionally, Paul might be willing to participate in SDS as 210772 - an owner and developer to enhance the full range of tools 210773 - needed for effective knowledge management. 210774 - 210775 - 210776 - Summarizing... 210777 - 210778 - First impression and preliminary analysis suggests that Paul's 210779 - proposal leads toward the Enterprise Management model formulated 210780 - on 990427, ref SDS 15 7503, and described in the proposal to 210781 - NSF, ref OF 6 0001, on 990427, ref SDS 18 3844, using SDS as the 210782 - engine to generate knowledge on the web, and Paul's tools for 210783 - people to more easily apply the intelligence. 210784 - 210785 - Per above, it may align with ideas discussed with Jack Park on 210786 - 000503. ref SDS 75 6903 210787 - 210788 - The reason this might be a good idea is because the tools Paul 210789 - seems to be proposing reduce the need to teach everybody the 210790 - concepts of POIMS and the complex functions of SDS that are 210791 - counterintuitive, and so hard to understand, in order for them 210792 - to benefit from "intelligence." We can teach a few people, and 210793 - everybody else can keep working in their normal manner, but get 210794 - better results. It provides a partial solution to the diligence 210795 - issue, where people simply are not inclined nor in many cases do 210796 - have the aptitude for using SDS. This gets us started solving 210797 - those world problems Doug is talking about, by improving 210798 - productivity of a lot of people. 210799 - 210800 - In the same way that a car leverages muscle power to help a lot 210801 - of people, we have found that a little intelligence added to 210802 - management everyday helps a lot of people think, remember and 210803 - communicate better which reduces mistakes and enhances discovery 210804 - of opportunities that are otherwise overlooked. 210805 - 210806 - 210807 - Paul cites negative forces against the proposal... 210808 - 210809 - . It undermines your proprietary interest in the structure of your 210810 - site and related tools. ref DRT 1 6305 210811 - 210812 - Comment 210813 - 210814 - Need explanation of how proprietary interest would be affected 210815 - in the record. 210816 - 210817 - This concern helps focus on what Paul really has in mind. I may 210818 - not be understanding it correctly, because, off-hand, I do not 210819 - see the problem he suggests. 210820 - 210821 - Say Rod sends Paul a letter on the web, and cites an SDS record 210822 - or two for clarification. Paul grabs the letter and any records 210823 - he wishes to keep, as a record of what he saw and did, using his 210824 - Pointrel tool, including adding comments. Rod's record remains 210825 - untouched, and Paul now has a record in his system with his 210826 - comments. He sends Rod a reply, referencing Rod's original 210827 - record and links to his copy of the record with his comments. 210828 - Rod's record is unchanged on his web site (filing cabinet), but 210829 - now he has Paul's comments, which can be analyzed in a new record 210830 - linked back to Paul's comments, if Rod wishes, or he may not do 210831 - that in the same way people decide every day whether to do 210832 - something about information they see and hear or move on and 210833 - change the channel. 210834 - 210835 - One thing we want to avoid is reaching for the perfect 210836 - solution. 210837 - 210838 - It will always be elusive, just beyond reach. We want to 210839 - improve by an order of magnitude current work practice, which is 210840 - exemplified by Eric Armstrong's letter today, saying he could 210841 - not comment on the POIMS paper because he printed it, prepared 210842 - handwritten comments, and then left it in his car or lost it. 210843 - ref SDS 95 6035 We want to improve that scenario to help Eric 210844 - and others, and we have a way to do it that nobody else has 210845 - discovered, and which works well. 210846 - 210847 - . It creates more copyright & licensing issues & liability in your 210848 - redistributing the web content. ref DRT 1 7844 210849 - 210850 - Comment 210851 - 210852 - Isn't this mainly an issue of attribution, discussed in the 210853 - record on 000227? ref SDS 48 0987 210854 - 210855 - There is also an issue of privacy and security. 210856 - 210857 - Probably need legal advice, as Paul has advocated, for example 210858 - in his letter, ref DRP 1 0001 on 000203. ref SDS 29 0001 210859 - 210860 - . It would take some of your time. ref DRT 1 0988 210861 - 210862 - Comment 210863 - 210864 - Assuming these improvements are worthwhile, this time will be 210865 - invested to improve earnings and save time, possibly solve a 210866 - world problem, which would be time well spent. 210867 - 210868 - . Collaborations can go sour. ref DRT 1 2332 210869 - 210870 - Comment 210871 - 210872 - Lack of collaboration may prevent a solution, so this is a toss 210873 - up. 210874 - 210875 - Further, Paul seems to be proposing an implementation 210876 - independent of SDS, other than to process the record on the 210877 - Internet, so there may not need to be a lot of collaboration, 210878 - per se. 210879 - 210880 - On the other hand, it would be enormously beneficial to go ahead 210881 - and develop improvements to SDS, per above, ref SDS 0 4071, that 210882 - would require a lot of collaboration which could be pretty 210883 - painful in unlocking the secrets of KM enough for Paul to get 210884 - going, as has occurred with Morris, reported on 920215. 210885 - ref SDS 2 5820 210886 - 210887 - 210888 - Friendly forces favoring the proposal... 210889 - 210890 - . It would be nice to see some open source KM code, even if it 210891 - isn't everything an OHS could be. ref DRT 1 2408 210892 - 210893 - Comment 210894 - 210895 - KM would be nice to have from any source, since it does not 210896 - otherwise exist, and is not on the drawing boards anywhere, per 210897 - meeting at SRI on 000330, ref SDS 63 0713, and review on 000106. 210898 - ref SDS 22 0877 The threshold question is what does it take to 210899 - produce it by any means, not by a particular means. 210900 - 210901 - See caution above about reaching too far, too fast. ref SDS 0 210902 - 4074 210903 - 210904 - The big issue is to add intelligence to management, which right 210905 - now is overwhelmed by information overload. This entails giving 210906 - people a much stronger form of knowledge creation than is 210907 - available with present use of alphabet technology, applied with 210908 - pen and paper, printing press and wordprocessing, which can only 210909 - produce information. These technologies rely on the human mind 210910 - to create the actual knowledge. SDS provides a way to aid human 210911 - thinking that produces knowledge by integrating time and 210912 - information with the structure of spreadsheet technology. This 210913 - method, i.e., a spreadsheet for knowledge, directly enhances the 210914 - qualify of work, which can help solve world problems better than 210915 - existing alphabet technology. 210916 - 210917 - It also provides a development path for a wider range of people 210918 - to learn about the plan, perform, report "intelligence" process 210919 - who can then develop add on capabilities, as Paul proposes 210920 - today, that will provide bells and whistles people dream about 210921 - for an OHS/DKR. 210922 - 210923 - . You might have some better open source tools for doing your 210924 - consulting. ref DRT 1 4248 210925 - 210926 - Comment 210927 - 210928 - Per your next point, a Pointrel add-on to provide command and 210929 - control of "intelligence" on the Internet would help sell 210930 - consulting time, and demonstrate the value of SDS. 210931 - 210932 - In my particular case, I need to begin thinking about other ways 210933 - to use SDS for a revenue stream. Generating "intelligence" takes 210934 - time and energy of young people 30 - 50. I am at the end of 210935 - that cycle. We need to begin training others to do this work, 210936 - as a co-evolution process that Doug Engelbart advocates, but so 210937 - far has not acted on any of the notices submitted urging support 210938 - for this essential next step in the "revolution." 210939 - 210940 - . I would have a good example of using Pointrel to show people. 210941 - ref DRT 1 5658 210942 - 210943 - Comment 210944 - 210945 - Theoretically, Paul and others would also have a powerful tool 210946 - for improving their work day-to-day. 210947 - 210948 - 210949 - Paul requests ideas on what makes sense. 210950 - ref DRT 1 0936 210951 - 210952 - Generally, Paul's proposal aligns with ideas discussed with Jack 210953 - Park on 000503, ref SDS 75 6860, where Rod is willing to share 210954 - participation in SDS with others, e.g., certainly Morris, but also 210955 - Jack, Eric, and now Paul. 210956 - 210957 - Subsequently, Jack is pausing over the issue of open source, and 210958 - Eric does not see merit in SDS and POIMS, per meeting with Morris 210959 - at Intel on 000517. ref SDS 88 0825 210960 - 210961 - Paul seems to reflect Jack's sense about the potential for SDS, 210962 - so it remains to be seen whether a constructive business 210963 - relationship can be fashioned to accommodate diverse agendas. 210964 - 2111 - Distribution. . . . 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