John Cowan, editor of R7RS-large, has asked me to forward this invitation to join the R7RS-large discussion and voting:

The current phase of R7RS-large development, the development of SRFIs for the Red (data structures) Edition of the language, is coming to an end within a week or so.  At that point, I'd like to start discussing the different options to be voted on using the scheme-reports-wg2 mailing list.  If you are not reading this message on that list, you have several ways to sign up for it:

1) You can send an empty email to <scheme-reports-wg2xxxxxx@googlegroups.com>.  Note the pattern of hyphens and plus signs.  You should get a confirmation email.  You do not need a Google account to use this method, only an email address.

2) You can sign up on the Web at <https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/scheme-reports-wg2>.  You need a Google account to use this method.  You do *not* necessarily need a Gmail account: anyone with an email address can get a Google account by signing up at <https://accounts.google.com/sigNup>.

The current docket for the Red Edition is available at <http://trac.sacrideo.us/wg/wiki/RedDocket>.  It is *not* a ballot, just the agenda for discussion.  However, if you plan to vote, you need to be a registered Scheme voter.  If you registered to vote in either of the last two Steering Committee elections, or for the R6RS or R7RS-small ratification votes, or were a member of Working Group 1 or an original member of Working Group 2, you are already registered and can vote in R7RS elections.  Everyone who votes will get their names on the front page.  Note that there will *not* be a final ratification vote.

If you are not registered, simply send an email to this mailing list with the following information: your real name (or name you use in place of a real name), your location, your affiliation if any, your email address, any other contact information (Web, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), and a short original paragraph (not a copy of someone else's) indicating your interest in or experience with Scheme.  Votes by those who have not registered by the end of the voting period will be ignored.

It's really going to happen now.  In a few days I'll send out preliminary messages to start discussions on the SRFIs listed on the RedDocket page.  When the vote is complete, we'll know which SRFIs are going into the Red Edition and which are not.  Then, of course, we'll start work on the SRFIs for the Orange Edition, and repeat the process until we reach the complete, or Ultra-Violet edition (so named because it is currently quite invisible).