Hi Mike.

>Where is it written that one might not have good reason to put their name on a list stating their intention to consider putting their name on another list? I can give you plenty of counter-examples: registering to vote, voting in a primary election, putting your name on a petition to have an issue placed on a ballot, joining a civic organization, etc.

All of these examples enable something else to occur (if you don't register to vote, you can't vote). Putting one's name on a list supporting the creation of a letter that one would then put their name on doesn't enable the creation of the letter nor the ability to put one's name on the letter.

>I'm not sure how closely you've been following all of the discussion, but it seems to me that the notion that a letter doesn't already exist in some very real sense has been laid to rest

Why don't we eliminate all the controversy by drafting a simple, all-in-one-place (not spread out over numerous Wiki topics and Web sites) open letter, ask folks to sign it by a given date, then submit it to MS?

Doug