[Clascomment] OPT-IN:

[Hicks, Kenneth]

Dear Gabriel,

Thank you for your comments on the paper under review.

I would like to address one of your main points.  The authors of the comment, as well as the Ad Hoc Committee, had vigorous discussions about the tone of this comment (whether it should be more aggressive, less aggressive, etc.).  Many of your comments were already been considered while the paper was being prepared.

CLAS is a large collaboration, with many people and many different opinions.  The comment paper under review will not please everyone.  However, it is written with the goal of providing the broadest appeal within our collaboration.

Some people have told me the comment paper is too weak, and others have told me it is too strongly worded. Perhaps this means that it is a reasonable compromise as a CLAS collaboration paper.

Best regards,
Ken