<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> </head> <body text="#000000" bgcolor="#ffffff"> It does not well become the PTG to ignore the significance of this List.  I became a Member of the PTG absolutely BECAUSE of this List.  Over the years (I first subscribed in 1996) I gained such a sense of a willing and helful community of experienced and less-expereinced practitioners, all willing to help and dedicated to sharing and increasing mutual knowledge, that I formed a very favourable impression of the PTG.  Not all List subscribers are PTG members, of course, but a great many are.  I saw this list as representing something of the character and ideals of the PTG, and was so positively impressed, that I decided to join the PTG. In time I may hope to become an RPT. Had it not been for this List, I would not have joined the PTG  several years ago or paid to attend MARC in April.  It was a great pleasure for me at MARC to meet regular contributors here such as Joe, Jon, Jurgen, Dale and others, who in some measure I felt I already knew. If the PTG does not value this List, then I must re-assess to some extent how I feel about the PTG. I am sure none of us is against progress and new ways of doing things. The very nature of discussions on this List proves that.  But we have all felt that a) the new Forum seemed to be sprung on us "out of the blue", without ever having been mooted or discussed here on the List where it matters most, and b) after months, we are not happy with the practicalities of the new Forum. Personally I have been willing to give the  new Forum a trial, and have posted to it a good number of times.  My most recent post seems to be formatted very oddly, with lines a mile long,  It has been difficult to decide where one should post, on various topics. I have now taken the decision to "vote with my feet" and post only to this List, until such times as issues are resolved in some measure. Best regards, David. </body> </html>