In this case it is entirely a matter of perception. "Those who are listed" apparently have one perception of the value of being listed and "Those who are not listed" have a different perception of the value of being listed. At least a different publicly stated perception of the value of being listed. :)
Small resellers see the referral list as being valuable and a service being unfairly denied to them by OpenSRS in favor of a few big resellers. This issue is turning into a issue of trust and fair treatment more than a source of new business. Since so many, including OpenSRS, insists the referral list has no value and is virtually worthless as a source of new business why doesn't OpenSRS just go back to the old policy of listing everybody and putting this issue to bed? This would make the small resellers happy again and would not hurt the large resellers as it does not provide them much in the way of new business. (If it is true that it does not generate much business, which I do not know) The fact that OpenSRS will not do this and the fact that certain individuals keep posting how worthless the referral list is as a source of customers just fuels the perception of small resellers that the list is indeed a good source of referrals that is unfairly being denied them. These denials just deepen the mistrust of OpenSRS by part of it's small reseller community. Given all the alternatives for resellers in today's market this issue can turn into a real loser for OpenSRS if they continue the current policy of favoring a few resellers with the referral listing. And as I have stated previously, I have no interested in being added to the referral list. And I too am tired of seeing this issue debated and would like to see it put to rest but I can understand the frustration of those who wish to be listed and feel they are not being treated fairly. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chuck Hatcher" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WebWiz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "discuss-list" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2003 6:23 AM Subject: Re: Referral List > > IMHO, the reseller list and any "issue" about who is or > > isn't on it is a red herring. > > > > Regards, > > Eric Longman > > Atl-Connect Internet Services > > You're right, Eric. It really isn't the reseller list, it's the > relationship between Tucows and the small reseller. The real issue is the > perception by some resellers of unfair treatment, and the responsiveness of > Tucows to listen and deal with the problem. > > Even if the referral list is worthless, why should small resellers be > excluded? And if it is only nearly worthless (i.e. if it only results in a > tiny number of new prospects), wouldn't that be of relatively greater value > to a small company than a large one? And if it is of such small value, and > so controversial, why not do away with it altogether? > >
