Re[2]: How do you get decent support out of
Hello Thomas, Thursday, January 6, 2005, 4:39:09 PM, you wrote: TF> Hello Stuart, TF> On Wed, 5 Jan 2005 19:20:00 + GMT (06/01/2005, 02:20 +0700 GMT), TF> Stuart Moore wrote: SM>> As another pointed out, for a commercial operation, depending SM>> on volunteer support would be challenging to opt for. Hence SM>> why so many people make money selling support on the likes of linux. TF> True. The people who make money are the distributors. You could become TF> a TB distributor and make money off that. Point in case is that the TF> former German TB distributor did exactly that until he was terminated. TF> Now the German support is back to the volunteer TB lists. OK. I surrender. The Bat is a wonderful package, RITLabs a remarkable developer, and the mailing list support of the The Bat the best exemplar of software support for individuals and small businesses on the planet and I am delighted with having spent the additional money on the pro/business version of the package. Please do not terminate me. :-) -- Stuart Current version is 3.0.1.33 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re[2]: How do you get decent support out of
Hello Mary, Thursday, January 6, 2005, 6:07:25 PM, you wrote: MB> I think perhaps Thomas may have thought he was Replying to Andrew. MB> Andrew said that his company selected a different e-mail client, right Ah, my mistake. Thanks for clarifying. Still not used to The Bat threading over decent Cosy style threading. MB> Thomas apparently doesn't think that any e-mail seller offers that MB> kind of support. I see. I have responded on this point because my experience differs. Thanks for the intervention. -- Stuart Current version is 3.0.1.33 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re[2]: How do you get decent support out of
Hello Thomas, Thursday, January 6, 2005, 6:07:54 PM, you wrote: TF> I mean that I am not aware of any software company selling an email TF> product that offers tech support better than the TB lists. I have in the past, for major corporations, contracted support from Microsoft (for Exchange/Outlook) and IBM (for Lotus Notes) before (to name the two biggest corporate email systems). There contracts had guaranteed escalation paths up to developer (and development project management) involvement. These contracts were found to be effective in providing corporate level resolution of major problems. I know of such agreements in place for a number of other email packages. I think that you need to define better. I think we may be driven by very different criteria. Certainly one can come to this mailing list and obtain excellent detailed support on quiet singular aspects and requirements of The Bat almost certainly in a manner that would not be entertained for execution for within a major corporate (certainly not if they have outsourced their infrastructure to a mainstream provider). I am not sure that I would call that better rather than simply different and perhaps fit-for-purpose for a different client base than the one I was referring to and the customer segment that I, mistakenly it would seem, had assumed I was buying into with the premium purchase of The Bat. -- Stuart Current version is 3.0.1.33 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re[2]: How do you get decent support out of
Hello Thomas, Thursday, January 6, 2005, 4:28:07 PM, you wrote: TF> Good point. By the way, can you advise the email address of the email TF> client's vendor that you are using instead, which will get you more or TF> less immediate replies? Just curious. Sorry, I must be having a really bad day but I can not work out what you mean. -- Stuart Current version is 3.0.1.33 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re[2]: How do you get decent support out of
Hello Alexander, I am not sure that I understand your points exactly. Thursday, January 6, 2005, 1:49:46 PM, you wrote: SM>>> I agree that the support on this mail list is absolutely excellent. I SM>>> just do not think it appropriate for a software developer to take SM>>> money for a business/pro version and not provide some degree of SM>>> support without depending on unpaid volunteers. >> I agree wholeheartedly. Naturally for me I'd rather see lower prices and >> this sort of community support but I am almost certain that this is not >> way to go for a business point-of-view. ASK> Which business take care of their IT/mail infrastructure itself? A lot. Many probably should not do so. Part of my job is running package and outsourcing selection processes for companies (small, medium and absolutely gigantic). However, I do not see how this relates to a manufacturer failing to support a product they produce. ASK> Those that actually do are either very, I beg your pardon, stupid, or ASK> rather big, so that they have their own IT administration and end user ASK> support (be it internal or outsourced, doesn't matter). I think that is a bit of a leap. It is not always stupid to retain in house and a golden principle is do not outsource what you do not understand (and like most principles there are cases where this does not apply). ASK> SMB's should leave the support to their system builder/integrator, thats ASK> the way customer relations are meant to work... What customer relations? Are you saying that the customer relations procedures should be outsourced, just commodity business processes (like Accounts Receivable), or are we just talking technology here. I know many SMBs who are far better served by doing it themselves. ASK> I don't go and try to fix my car myself. I don't go and call the vendor for ASK> help. I go to the nearest expert that I know (a mechanic, a garage) and ASK> tell them I have a problem. They fix it, they're the experts. Indeed. I do expect that they can get help from Ford, GM, etc though. My apologies for completely misunderstanding your point. -- Stuart Current version is 3.0.1.33 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re[4]: How do you get decent support out of
Hello Andrew, Wednesday, January 5, 2005, 7:23:02 PM, you wrote: >> I had locked out the admin account - none of the working accounts >> had admin rights. In the past now so no need to work through what >> may or may not have happened as I cannot test anything now. A> I'm not sure that qualifies as TB issue. How disappointing! If you can A> somehow get Admin rights to that machine still you can reset your password or A> take ownership of the mailbase files. I am referring to the admin rights accounts within TB (managed via the Network & Administration option on the Options menu) and not confusing this with Windows access rights. I had full Windows admin access. Thanks anyway. -- Stuart Current version is 3.0.1.33 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re[2]: How do you get decent support out of
Hello Peter, Wednesday, January 5, 2005, 8:54:58 PM, you wrote: PM> Hi Stuart, PM> on Wed, 5 Jan 2005 19:20:00 +GMT, you wrote: SM>> I agree that the support on this mail list is absolutely SM>> excellent. I just do not think it appropriate for a software SM>> developer to take money for a business/pro version and not provide SM>> some degree of support without depending on unpaid volunteers. PM> What's wrong with that, as long as there *is* support? Firstly I think that it is unsustainable as a commercial proposition for the long term growth of a software house (i.e. they will be capped by the customer base willing to accept this model - regardless of the merits) and secondly I believe that direct and significant involvement in support is fundamental to the improvement cycle of software development in a commercial model. (The open source model has a different and viable approach to this feedback loop.) Having read through this mailing list and a lot of the beta list I personally believe that I see evidence of this weakness manifesting itself within the RITLabs approach. PM> In my view, this is a formalism. RITlabs could hire an extra support PM> person, which would increase their costs and in consequence the price PM> of the product. All this person could do is read everything in all TB! PM> lists (because no-one can imagine all possible conjunctions and PM> interferences on the users' PCs with their programs and The Bat!). PM> This can be done much better by the users themselves. So, RITlabs PM> actually *has* a much more efficient support than usual. :)) Indeed. I would have paid more for better support. I had, wrongly, assumed that in purchasing the Pro/Business version I had already done so. PM> I'd love to be paid for my participation, but I volunteer anyway like PM> many others. I just think it's worthwhile. :-) I understand this and appreciate your contribution. I too contribute voluntarily to many causes. I suspect that we are not going to agree. -- Stuart Current version is 3.0.1.33 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re[2]: How do you get decent support out of
I agree that the support on this mail list is absolutely excellent. I just do not think it appropriate for a software developer to take money for a business/pro version and not provide some degree of support without depending on unpaid volunteers. Some response (even, "I dunno Gov, have you tried rebuilding your PC, never seen this before") within a week would have been unpalatable but at least I would have known where I stood. The complete lack of response is ignorant, rude and unprofessional. As another pointed out, for a commercial operation, depending on volunteer support would be challenging to opt for. Hence why so many people make money selling support on the likes of linux. -- Stuart Current version is 3.0.1.33 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re[2]: How do you get decent support out of
TN> So, what was your problem? TN> TN> I have been using TB! for years and had no major problems at all. I had locked out the admin account - none of the working accounts had admin rights. In the past now so no need to work through what may or may not have happened as I cannot test anything now. I am pleased you have experienced no problems. I have had problems in the past (possibly my fault despite using the Internet since before it was called that) with a) filters no working correctly (resolved with a point upgrade) and emails being deleted for no apparent reason (not connected to the filters I assure you) - thank goodness for regular backups. -- Stuart Current version is 3.0.1.33 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
How do you get decent support out of
Arghh!!! I am thoroughly disgusted with the support provided by RITLABS. More specifically, the lack of support. I have paid for two Pro/Business licenses. I opened a trouble ticket on 12th November at critical status as I was unable to use The Bat. No response. I posted a follow up message on 29th November asking for an update. No response. The problem seems to be assigned to someone (Alexander Leschinsky) but nothing happens! I have done a complete rebuild and have managed to get The Bat working properly again. I had really hoped to avoid doing a rebuild. I have chosen not to close the ticket but to update the information and request some kind of response. Who exactly are RITLABS? Is it a real business? Is it a virtual organisation or do they have actual offices? I have used small software houses for software for years and have registered a wide range of software. I never seen a total lack of response like this before. I really like The Bat but I cannot possibly recommend it under these circumstances. (A shame as I am a Management Consultant for a major consultancy firm focused on the SMB section and am often asked for advice on email packages). -- Stuart Current version is 3.0.1.33 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
New Filtering System ... er, where is it exactly?
I have been on v3 for a while and am now trying to learn about the "New Filtering System" - I am having difficulty finding this. All I can find is the same system as before under Sorting Office/Filters although this does have a few things better arranged than before. I certainly can not find the "new flow chart style front end" - not one single flow chart style graphic (or box imitation) has leapt out at me anywhere. I am beginning to think I have not installed v3 properly. Can anyone advise? -- Stuart Current version is 3.00.00 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Help file / manual for V3
My help file still refers to version 2 (at least it says "What's new in version 2") and I can not find a more up-to-date version. Please can someone point me to the updated help file or manual. I am sure that RIT Labs would not have done a major release without producing a new help file or manual, I am just not able to find it. -- Stuart Current version is 3.00.00 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Fwd: Re[2]: Regular expression help - a simple filter - Argh!!!
Hi Bill, Thanks for trying. Saturday, September 11, 2004, 1:14:03 AM, you wrote: BM> On Fri 10-Sep-04 3:04pm -0400, Stuart Moore wrote: >> Guys, thanks for suggestions. >>>> Although difficult to do exactly what you want, you can come pretty >>>> close with: >>>> \*?\bist-?d?\b >> For example, the following subject lines are not >> matched (I also changed the pattern to have a capital D in >> it just in case): BM> In v3, I believe, regex is caseless - you don't have to BM> worry about case. >> Re: *ist D for me >> Re: *ist (35mm) custom functions & 360FGZ flash >> Re: HELP - Firmware 1.11 for *ist D >> *ist D purchased on a whim >> RE: ENABLED limited ist D >> RE: Batteries for the istD >> RE: IST D and Pentax-F 1.7x AF adapter >> Re: IST-D discontinued? >> Paint Shop Pro 9 built in RAW support for *ist D >> istD price change BM> Hmm, using RegEx Test, hits were found in all of those BM> lines. >> Also might I be right in thinking that in principle the >> * marks a word boundary anyway so \*? is redundant and -? >> is also redundant as I am also interested in "ist" matches >> and - marks a word boundary. BM> It is because * and - are word boundaries, I mentioned that BM> it is "difficult to do exactly what you want. BM> \*? is redundant if you're not going to use the result. BM> That is "*ist" be matched including it. "ist" will be BM> matched in "*ist" if you don't include it. BM> But the ending isn't included properly anyway. So simply BM> \bistd?\b BM> is probably good enough :-) BM> BTW, anyone trying this with a non-caseless implementation BM> should use: BM> (?s)\bistd?\b I just cannot get the expressions to work well. I have admitted failure and gone to multiple ORed literal searches. Will revisit with future versions of The Bat. Stuart Current version is 3.00.00 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re[2]: Regular expression help - a simple filter - Argh!!!
Guys, thanks for suggestions. >> Although difficult to do exactly what you want, you can come pretty >> close with: >> \*?\bist-?d?\b DG> Wouldn't:\b*?ist-?\b ie: \b word boundary DG> *? 0 or 1 asterisk DG> ist DG> -? 0 or 1 dash DG> d? 0 or 1 d DG> \b word boundary DG> work better? DG> Using: The Bat! v2.12.00, BayesIt! 0.5.9, DG>MyMacros 1.11, gMacrosPlugin 0.80 DG>Windows 2000 v5.0 - Build 2195 - Service Pack 4 (Dan - I assume you accidentally left "d?" out?) I tried these already and the do not work for all messages. This is what is driving me bonkers. For example, the following subject lines are not matched (I also changed the pattern to have a capital D in it just in case): Re: *ist D for me Re: *ist (35mm) custom functions & 360FGZ flash Re: HELP - Firmware 1.11 for *ist D *ist D purchased on a whim RE: ENABLED limited ist D RE: Batteries for the istD RE: IST D and Pentax-F 1.7x AF adapter Re: IST-D discontinued? Paint Shop Pro 9 built in RAW support for *ist D istD price change Also might I be right in thinking that in principle the * marks a word boundary anyway so \*? is redundant and -? is also redundant as I am also interested in "ist" matches and - marks a word boundary. It may be a red herring, but it also seems to me that with \b at the end, subject lines ending with ist are not matched for some reason I do not understand. I take it that the default setting for matching is already caseless in The Bat as you have not included (?i) instructions or case alternatives? Thanks for trying. Any more thoughts? -- Stuart mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] "if you are not confused : you are misinformed Current version is 3.00.00 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Regular expression help - a simple filter - Argh!!!
I need help with a filter using a regular expression in v3. I have tried many many times and failed completely. I think I am following the rules but The Bat does not seem to follow them.I am not experienced in PERL so hope I am just being very ignorant. I want to find any posts that have any of the following complete strings (case is not relevant): *ist *istd *ist-d ist istd ist-d (In case you are wondering, the ist refers to a particular Pentax camera and I want to filter out messages about this camera from a broader mailing list.) I do, of course, want to avoid matching on any longer words that have ist or istd in them (beginning, end or middle). Firstly, searches on "message source" do not seem to work at all. Anything in the regular expression other than a simple string seems to cause no messages to be parsed. I have therefore had to use the same regular expression twice linked with an OR to search both "subject" and "text". Secondly, many many attempts seem to fail if the string falls at the end of the subject line. I thought something like this would do the job: ((?i)\b\*?istd?\b) which seems to do the trick in The Regex Coach. (I note I can drop \* as the * marks a word boundary anyway.Similarly, if I get to a - then I have found a match and do not need to check for -d.) However, The Bat does not seem to like the (?i) construction so I have replaced this thus: \b[iI][sS][tT][dD]?\b Still very limited joy. A few messages are selected but nowhere near as many as should be. (I have about 6000 messages to search around 2000 of which should be targeted.) Please can anyone point me in the right direction. I am getting very very frustrated and do not find The Bat's help at all useful. (It does not look like it has been updated for version 3 either.) TIA. -- Stuart mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] "if you are not confused : you are misinformed" Current version is 3.00.00 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re[2]: Filters in v3 (and perhaps v2 as well for all I know)
Hi Roelof, Thursday, September 9, 2004, 2:55:34 PM, you wrote: RO> Hallo Stuart, SM>> Filters are driving me potty. RO> Don't despair. Aargh!!! I am trying. SM>> namely a "*ist D" - a stupid name I know. RO> But a nice camera Indeed. SM>> However, what I really want to do, is delete any messages SM>> that do not contain these. RO> ACK SM>> However, having removed the virtual folder and create a new filter SM>> on the inbox using the same criteria I find I get NO matches!! RO> I guess that you had a filter in place that moved Pentax messages to RO> another folder. Now if you follow that with a filter that will be RO> triggered by a subselection of the same messages it won't do that, RO> unless you set the option 'continue processing with other filters' RO> (both v2 and v3) or when you make the second filter a subfilter for RO> the first (v3 only) RO> As you're looking for something that'll work for both v2 and v3, you RO> could try this: I am now on v3. I am trying to find the regular expression that will match, in general syntax terms [*]ist[-][d] in the subject line or main text (where [] denotes optional and this is a complete word so I do not get matches on words beginning with "ist") I assume this should be something along these lines: (?i)^*?ist-?d?$ where: (?i) says case does not matter (is this the default anyway?) ^ is meant to indicate this is the start of a word *? is meant to indicate zero or one "*" -? is meant to indicate zero or one "-" d? is meant to indicate zero or one "d" $ is meant to indicate that this is the end of the word I am guessing that * and - have special meanings so I can not do it this way. RO> Note: Most people tend to skip on characters that are neither letter RO> nor number (hardly anybody on this list talks about 'The Bat!') and RO> unless Pentax owners differ on this point (what I cannot imagine, RO> myself owning a Pentax as secondary camera) they'll tend to skip the RO> asterix, so you could do that too. Sadly, a very high proportion of the members include the *. Stuart -- Stuart mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] "if you are not confused : you are misinformed Current version is 3.00.00 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Filters in v3 (and perhaps v2 as well for all I know)
Filters are driving me potty. I belong to a mailing list for Pentax camera owners. This list has a lot of messages a day but I am only interested in messages that are about my camera, namely a "*ist D" - a stupid name I know. I have created a virtual folder that looks for any messages for which: message source contains *ist d OR message source contains *istd This works really well. However, what I really want to do, is delete any messages that do not contain these. As a first step, I thought that instead of using a virtual folder I would simple move all messages meeting the above criteria to another folder. However, having removed the virtual folder and create a new filter on the inbox using the same criteria I find I get NO matches!! Why would it work for virtual folders and not normal filters? Surely it is the same code? What am I doing that is stupid? Please help... (and if anyone would care to tell me instead how to dump any messages that do not meet the criteria instead, that would be even better). -- Stuart mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] "if you are not confused : you are misinformed" Current version is 3.00.00 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re: All read messages in Inbox gone
Hi Stan, SR> This morning, when I opened The Bat, all the Read messages in the SR> Inbox were gone. I did a Search for known senders and it did not find SR> any missing messages. SR> Rebuilding the Inbox message for that account didn't make any SR> difference. SR> Some important items have apparently been lost. I have had exactly the same experience. More precisely, my wife has had this experience on her laptop several times and has now given up on The Bat and gone to the latest version of full Outlook. We both run the same (latest) version of The Bat (although she has a business license and me a regular license): she on XP Pro, me on W2K. Messages were in mail inbox folder and not filtered, all messages displayed, not moved to delete etc. She had, as do I, the purge/compress option on exit set on. I am absolutely confident that she has not been deleting messages herself accidentally. Fortunately, I configured her TheBat to leave messages on the server for over a month so I was able to get Outlook going with a decent set of messages. (It is not obvious to me how to export the older messages from The Bat - up to the last backup - from The Bat in a form that Outlook can import.) -- Stuart mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Current version is 2.11.02 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re: Mod: Cut mark (was: Correcting receive dates - is this possible?)
Hi Marck, Friday, June 11, 2004, 10:56:05 AM, you wrote: MDP> Dear Stuart, MDP> just to the person being replied to, even if their post may have MDP> instigated this reply. Please don't feel singled out Stuart. I don't. Apologies to all. My signature is set correctly in my templates. I must have deleted them on the posts. No idea why. I can see it below now so if it does not appear below this ... I give up :-) -- Stuart mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] "if you are not confused : you are misinformed Current version is 2.11.02 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re[2]: Correcting receive dates - is this possible?
Hi MAU, Friday, June 11, 2004, 12:07:56 AM, you wrote: M> You may Tools/Export theses messages as .MSG, then delete them from M> whatever folder you have them in and then do a Tools/import. The received M> date and time will be that of when you do the import. That cracked it. I set the clock back a few days (i.e. to what it should have been when receiving certain messages) and exported/deleted/imported sets of messages accordingly. Thanks. Stuart Current version is 2.11.02 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Re[2]: Correcting receive dates - is this possible?
Hi Peter, Thursday, June 10, 2004, 8:07:08 PM, you wrote: PM> Hi Stuart, PM> on Thu, 10 Jun 2004 12:30:52 +0100GMT, you wrote: PM> I believe that you can do it with Total Commander. It is shareware, so PM> try to get it done during the trial period. You might want to buy it PM> anyhow... ;-) http://www.ghisler.com Thanks for the suggestion. This looks more like a shell alternative for Windows (like TakeCommand/4NT/4Dos from http://www.jpsoft.com) but does not seem to have the same level of file handling capability as required to edit within files. I will have a closer look. Stuart Current version is 2.11.02 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
Correcting receive dates - is this possible?
The cmos battery failed on my computer and my computer date was set back a few years. A whole load of messages have been downloaded with a receive date set to a few years back. This is highly incovenient for message managenment purposes. Is there anyway from within The Bat that I can change these dates (using an appropriate offset)? Failing this, is there an obvious and safe way to do this to the files outside of The Bat? Stuart Current version is 2.11.02 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
