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On Thu, 19 Mar 1998, Dr. Robert K. Irish wrote: ->research is too highly prized. Only those of you with tenure, security, ->power can do anything about it. We poor plebes at the other end just ->have to seek out those "opportunities to publish." I have to object here, Rob. As powerful as the forces that demand arcane (sometimes) research and publication in elite journals, I wouldn't go so far as to say *only* the tenured can do something about it. Poor plebes we may be, but assigning ourselves no power, no recourse, no options mainly plays into the hands of the power structure. I believe we're complicit in our own powerlessness when we assert our own helplessness. Heck, CCCC Online is an example of refusing to wait for permission to act. I started that project, with help and advice from many colleagues, some of them tenured, some of them not. I not only don't have tenure. I don't even have a phd. Hmmm. maybe that's one reason this thing never takes off like I think it should? But nevermind that. It exists. It persists. And if we give ourselves permission to use it, regardless of its status in the tenure process, it'll thrive. I have to remind myself sometimes of that old John Mellencamp song, The Authority Song, in which he laments: "I fight authority; authority always wins." That may be so. That's probably so. But it does no good to hand the game to authority too early. Look. Forget that 'opportunity to publish' bit if it bugs you. CCCC Online is not restricted to those who have been reviewed by committee. It's a forum. It's a place to talk. You want a piece of that action? take it! --Eric Crump (who secretly believes that the spirit of cccc online (lower case) is alive and well in this very exchange, regardless that it doesn't occur in 'official' space ;)