X-Message-Number: 3136 Date: Wed, 14 Sep 1994 01:01:47 -0400 (EDT) From: Charles Platt <> Subject: CRYONICS:Membership I just noticed one small reference in Dave Pizer's message that escaped my attention before. He states that many people who are new to cryonics are choosing Alcor. Of course, this is true, but it doesn't tell the whole story. As I understand it, quite a number of these new members made contact with Alcor as a result of publicity which I initiated while I was doing public relations for Alcor. Dave might thank me for achieving this on behalf of Alcor, rather than suggest that Alcor has achieved it through competition with the organization that I am now a part of. Also, in at least one case which I dealt with personally, someone who had never signed with any cryonics organization chose CryoCare after evaluating all of the current cryonics groups in some detail. So, the picture is not quite as simple as Dave suggests. Alcor has its advantages (such as a long track record), but so does CryoCare--otherwise, why would ANY Alcor members go through the big hassle of completing new paperwork and making new insurance arrangements, in order to join us? As I see it, we now have a diverse ecology of cryonics providers, each occupying a different niche. Since a diverse ecology is usually more robust than a monoculture, I hope this competitive situation continues. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=3136