On Mon, Oct 21, 2002 at 12:51:54PM -0400, David Nemeth wrote:
> ... I think a much better way to
>handle questions about suppliers of routine things (like photomasks), would
>be to have a list of suppliers people
>have used,  with feedback from people about their experiences.  ...
   ...
>How do the list administrators feel about providing a forum like that?  Or
>do people know of an existing forum we could point people to (and direct our
>comments too?)

The unmoderated mems-business mailing list was created for such
discussion, but traffic on that list has been non-existent so far.  We
also maintain a list of various vendors on MEMSnet.org at
http://www.memsnet.org/links/, but few people seem to look at it.  (To
get your company added to the list, drop me a note.)

I'm doubtful of the usefulness of adding another forum.  Both the
mems-talk web page and the welcome message people receive when they
subscribe suggest searching the mems-talk archives and doing a Google
search before posting a question, but few people seem to bother.
People who post simple questions want their answers *now* and with a
minimum of effort.  I suspect an additional forum would simply be
another resource for them to ignore, and that's certainly what's been
happening to mems-business so far.

Question for the readership: should vendor-related questions be
considered off-topic for mems-talk?  Please send simple "yes" or "no"
responses privately to me at akuchlin@mems-exchange.org.  Longer, more
interesting responses can be sent to mems-talk.

        Regards,

--
A.M. Kuchling                     akuchlin@mems-exchange.org
If I tended toward frivolity as a boy, I am incorrigibly settled in it now.
    -- Robertson Davies, _The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks_