Bernie himself defending himself

[Bernard Hutchins]

Hi - It's me, Bernie Hutchins

This email and net stuff is new to me.  I've only had it since early August,
1996.  It's Cornell's actually, so it certainly can't and won't be used for
routine Electronotes work.

Most of you know that we started publishing in 1972.  We are still
publishing, although the issues are larger and less frequent than in the
early days.  The latest issue is Vol. 19, No. 187, August 1996, and has a
feature article on sampling and recovery based
on an average sampling rate (Shannon apparently never said the samples had
to be equally spaced!), as well as a review of Curt Roads' astounding book
THE COMPUTER MUSIC TUTORIAL, (MIT Press) and a page or so (of paper!) on Bob
Moog's Cornell visit last November.

Mentioning Bob's visit above is propitious since he said that there were two
questions he was always asked.  The first was "Are you still alive?"  (He
was.)  I mention
this because it appears I too need to make a Mark Twain statement.  I find
that much of the net has apparently decided that since I was not on the net,
I couldn't be around at all.

So, kicking and screaming, I let Cornell put the net on my computer.   (In
truth, I came into my office and saw some yellow lights blinking on a board
in the back.)  The tech shop guy showed me how to use a web searcher, and
typed in my name.  I found I had a web page I didn't even suspect.
[Incidentally, I have apparently had some sort of default email address for
a year or more.  If you knew this, and mailed me before about Aug. 10, 1996,
I didn't get it, and have no idea if it's still around.]

OK, so we punch in "electronotes" and follow some other links, and in fewer
than five minutes, we click on "analog synthesizers" and then
"voltage-controlled filter," and then "schematic."    GOSH THIS WEB IS GOOD,
I thought.  I just logged on five minutes ago, and already, they have one of
my VCF schematics installed for me, exactly as I drew it years ago!

Well, that was the beginning, and there was much more; and frankly, things
became more disturbing as I went along.   In the course of a couple of
weeks, sending emails, and just learning how to use the web, I found that in
addition to the unauthorized and (in most cases) totally unattributed
posting of my schematics, there was some sort of distribution by which
copies of my Preferred Circuits Collection was being circulated and copied
in large numbers, and most disturbing of all, that there was a general
perception that I was no longer providing this information.  [Why am I
telling you this - you probably have all read it.]

Now, I have had some very nice and helpful email, and also some relatively
unpleasant exchanges.  The latter I attribute to individuals who were - how
shall I put this: "caught with their hand in the cookie jar and were trying
desperately to rationalize their actions." Even as they were being pleasant
to me by email, they were plotting to continue their activities with such
flimflam as attaching to personal email, hidden links, redrawn
schematics, and surface mail.  These facts I found when a student of mine
showed me how to find posted messages.   I even found my personal email to
one individual posted.  I didn't know this was proper.

For the moment, no one is authorized, or ever has been, to post my
schematics on the web.  My objection is first, the general lack of
attribution (to me and to the original
designers).  Secondly, dispite what some people would like you to believe,
all the schematics that I saw were scanned from a copy of the Preferred
Circuits Collection dated somewhere from 1983 to 1986, and are copyrighted
material.  Copyright claims, and related claims of intellectual and/or
commercial property are something that we all need to take seriously, and
rigorously defend if necessary, particularly on this web
where things are often so chaotic.  When everyone is in agreement as to who
it was that originated the material, and if the originators still want to
retain their interest, can any person of good conscience endorse the
appropriation of this material by those who
suppose that they have found some loophole, or who just profess disdain for
any such rights, claiming a public's right to all information?
[Rhetorical (?)]

But there is still an additional problem here.  When you get a schematic off
the web, you are getting it instantaneously and largely, for free
(truthfully - how many of you are
actually paying for your web access - not many heavy users I bet), or at
least very cheaply.  If you get the schematic from Electronotes, you have to
order it and wait (NOT wait and wait and wait - more on this below), and you
have to pay for it.  My prices are not excessive, essentially what we
charged years ago, allowing a bit for inflation.  But,
they are very expensive, compared to free!  You people on the net,
accustomed to getting information free, are likely to be disappointed from
the start.  Does anyone have an idea how to deal with this problem?

I guess the next issue to deal with is the much rumored problem of
(supposed) bad service.  Now, if I make a list of the principle players that
I have been dealing with on
the net in the last weeks, I would have seven names.  Most of these have
expressed the opinion that we give bad service, do not respond to requests
for information, and in perhaps one case, cashed a check and did not send
any material.  What is the basis of these ideas?

Well, it's certainly not first hand.  Of the seven people I have in mind,
only one requested information.  He got the ordering information, chose not
to order (ostensibly,
because of the rumors of poor service) and FAXed the forms on to someone
else (who did not order - but whom, it seems FAXed my answering machine but
never left a message by voice.)  The other six never wrote or called to ask
for information, and I think they will (several have) admit that they never
even tried.   Yet, they were keen to pass along the general scuttlebutt of
bad service.

We do not keep records of who requests information, so I can never say for
sure (but most names I do remember, and some I could not forget).  We are
not perfect.  We probably loose a few things.  At one time, my answering
machine died and would not respond except by pushing the reset.  I lost four
messages last December, but they may have been for Marty anyway.  (Marty is
the state assemblyman who has phone number 277-8030 and 277 is a virtually
unused exchange here in Ithaca.)   A fair amount of mail that is apparently
addressed properly comes back.

Now, to continue on, it is simply untrue that we do not respond to requests
for ordering information.  I have asked those who think this is true to give
me examples.  It seems
to be always "a friend of a friend" type of assertion, or someone thinks
they saw something "posted" about it.  My student looked pretty carefully
through your various archives.  One guy got only 2/3 of his order.  What he
does not ever add later is that he
got a full refund and kept both the refund and the 2/3 of the material.  One
had a problem in 1985.  Someone felt that "Mr. Hutchins is no longer
interested in analog synthesis."   Is there anything of substance here?  If
there are any real complaints,
let's hear them.  I think this is something that started out as a half-truth
of minor significance and rumored itself into what some of you thought to be
fact - after all, you read it on the net!  One person asks a question,
another offers an opinion in response, and pretty soon, it's fact.  People
writing on the web need to be more careful what they say in the first place,
and people reading it need to be much more skeptical (also applies off the
web, of course).

Alas, it is true that I am no longer interested in doing any more work in
analog synthesis. This remark is hopefully understood as being distinct from
saying that I am not interested in selling you people my back materials
and/or that anyone else can provide
them to you, free or otherwise.   I do still very much love that circuitry.
[Incidentally, and truthfully, I do at times get too much credit for these.
I did a few creative things that I am somewhat proud of, but so many of the
really good ideas came from others.  You will see this if you read the text
material that accompanies the diagrams, as I always tried to acknowledge
them.]  What I did was mainly refinements, testing, standardization, and
presentation.

[And, you people really need to look at digital more.  It is SO convenient
for experimentation.  Make one digital equivalent of a VCO for example.
Want 5 more in parallel with slightly different parameters?  Essentially cut
and paste an assembly language file.  Rosin smoke is pleasant, but....!]

OK.  So I have to get around to talking about the PCC.  I've been putting it
off.   It is
evident to all that there are a lot of pirated copies of the PCC out there,
some on elaborate distribution (copy and mail on) schemes.  [I see that some
of these have crashed.  Welcome, guys, to the wonderful world of mail order
to unknown people!  Gosh, these things never happen to us!]   The
rationalization for launching these seems to have been the idea that I was
not (would not) provide these, that everyone had an inalienable right to
them, and that they were not copyrighted.  None of these three is
true.  Requesting information (not just clicking), ordering (not just
filling out an on-screen form), and particularly paying for them (ouch) is
an idea some have trouble with.   It is my intention to collect a fee for
each of these pirated PCC's that
I can, so some of you may be hearing from the people who sent the PCC to you
asking you to chip in your share (three people already have contacted me and
asked to pay).  This is the easiest way to handle this I think.

For any of you who want to get in contact with Electronotes, the address and
phone are the same as they have been for 20 years:

          Electronotes
          1 Pheasant Lane
          Ithaca, NY  14850-6399
          (607)-273-8030

Please do not request information by, or to be sent by, email.  We do not
have the information except in printed form, and anyway, Cornell of course
does not allow commercial activities over email (If anyone asks, what I'm
doing here is defending
my reputation!)

Oh, and when we ask for your address, that means REGULAR mail, i.e., what
you call snail mail.

Bernie Hutchins

PS:     Thanks SC for the suggestion and for information on
           how I could post messages of my own here.