OK.
I replied privately to Stephen.
He's wrong about some facts.
No "ITAR" issues were involved with that model. That is not how ITAR works.
He did not like the fact that it was intended to be posted for free for anyone to use. Some wanted to assert "copyright" over it, put "AMSAT.ORG" on the side of it, and control it in other ways. There were multiple conversations about this, and legal consultation over the "copyright" issue. I got a go-ahead from enough people on the board to publish it as originally proposed and went on to the next thing.
The model since then has been used very effectively, remixed, augmented with electronics, turned into a satellite tracker where one side is an LCD display, entered in art shows, "launched" at a trebuchet event, and thoroughly enjoyed.
It has also been completely ignored by leadership.
I am sorry Stephen's feelings were hurt by the open sourcing of a project. These issues of control and hurt feelings surrounding control are unfortunate.
After it was up, and there was some after-the-fact scramble, I offered to take it back down. He left out that part.
The fact that this is brought up as a reason for voting any particular way (I'm not even on the ballot) is a bit odd.
He endorses people that have shut down AMSAT board meetings entirely and are completely unapologetic about it.
Is publishing a useful model - faster than he preferred - somehow worse than derailing all deliberative venues for the entire organization, going way over the authorized amount for FD Associates, and secretly hiring lawyers?
There are some extremely high standards for some people, and very low ones for others, in the letter Stephen wrote.
-Michelle W5NYV
On Tue, Jul 14, 2020 at 2:44 PM Steve Kristoff via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb@amsat.org> wrote:
As Stephen has painted them in a negative light, I hope we can hear from Patrick and Michelle concerning their perceptions of the events described by Stephen.
Steve AI9IN
----- Original Message ----- From: Stephen E. Belter via AMSAT-BB (amsat-bb@amsat.org) Date: 07/14/20 16:30 To: AMSAT-BB (amsat-bb@amsat.org) Subject: [amsat-bb] Who I'm voting for (long)
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