query about the Big Deal

[Joseph Esposito <espositoj@gmail.com>]

I have been in a number of conversations the past few months 
about Big Deals, in which I have been told such things as "The 
Big Deal is over," "Everyone is cancelling the Big Deal," and 
"Unless the prices come down, we will withdraw from the Big 
Deals."  Has anyone documented what is actually going on?  I 
would be very interested to hear of specific actions, whether 
on-list or off.

I suppose that this query runs into the question of definitions: 
What exactly is a Big Deal anyway?  Does the term apply to all 
aggregations or only those of a specific character?

This query is made without judging the actions or the Big Deals 
themselves.  I simply want to understand the phenomenon and to 
determine if there is a gap between rhetoric and reality.

Thank you.

Joe Esposito