MANY others have posted their thoughts, most of which I agree with. To be specific:
Maxim Masiutin wrote:
- completely new filtering system, easier to understand and better to manage;
Maybe, but I haven't dared to use it, reading of its many problems--especially with IMAP. Is it fixed in 3.0? I'll believe it when I hear Allie and other heavy IMAP users here say that it is. I haven't installed the version 3 beta, and don't plan to as things stand right now.
- automatic filtering on IMAP;
Okay. This might be a good thing, but not terribly important to me, since I do my filtering on the server. In my mind, there are more important IMAP features that should be fixed and working.
Not only is IMAP full of bugs, but important IMAP functionality is missing. For example, what about IMAP labels? In Thunderbird and Mulberry, I can label a message "Important", "Work", "Personal", "To Do", and so forth, and the header color is changed accordingly. I can filter by these labels, so that I can run a good IMAP client ANYWHERE and filter those messages to which I want to reply. As far as I can tell, the only similar feature in The Bat is still flags, which are purely local. And I can't view the labels that I've set in another client. If I'm wrong, someone PLEASE correct me.
- mail chat (instant messager via simple mail protocols pop3/smtp);
Useless to me.
- chat virtual folders for watching conversation threads or waiting for replies to specific messages;
This one is worthwhile.
- right-to-left text editor for eastern languages;
Important for some. On the other hand, I still can't view Korean, and I know of at least one list subscriber who abandoned The Bat because of problems with Japanese--and I'm sure there are more.
- more anti-spam options; - built-in Bayesian anti-spam plugin;
Like others here, I feel this is unnecessary, when excellent Bayesian filters such as POPFile, SpamBayes, and K9 are out there. SpamBayes is currently the only one that supports IMAP, but IMAP support is coming very soon to POPFile.
- support for Microsoft Office Keyboard commands;
Okay.
- virtual folders and Folder View Modes;
This is a good addition.
- connectivity to MS Exchange servers;
Important for some.
- new signed MSI installation - improved XP-friendly interface, and possiblity to apply different skins to the program interface.
Two more "feel-good" additions.
So again, users install a new beta only to discover, with no forewarning, that they're going to be charged unless they backtrack to an earlier version? And apparently there's no indication of cost. No way will I install this beta until some of these questions are answered.
As I recall, I've been seeing the same complaints here for a long, long time, even before version 2 was released:
1. New (often cosmetic) features are introduced before critical bugs are fixed.
2. There is no published road map. We have to depend on vague promises from the developers, and often, hints dropped here and there, which we may or may not see.
3. There seems to be little concern for user input. The developers essentially ignore requests they don't like and work on things they enjoy, but jump on suggestions that are useful to only a few.
Not only have these problems not been fixed, but they've been steadily getting worse. It's becoming an Ritlabs habit to release a final version without notice, while numerous beta bugs are still being reported.
I have not been using The Bat for several months because of all its problems, particularly with IMAP. I've recently started to use it a little more, seeing some small improvements with IMAP. But now I'm expected to pay for some vague promise of its getting fully fixed in the future?
No, thanks. If things stay as they are, I will probably abandon The Bat after several years of past use. I'm now considering the following options:
1. Mulberry: A truly compliant IMAP client. Unlike Allie, I like the product, although it did take some getting used to. It does have a problem with multithreading, which causes server disconnects on my particular server (few others seem to have this problem). Once that gets fixed, I'm on my way.
2. Becky: A better IMAP client (I understand, although I haven't used it yet). Ongoing development, fewer bugs, and handles Asian languages well. Probably the closest product to The Bat out there.
3. Thunderbird: The one I'm using now. Lacking in some of The Bat's wonderful features, but it just works. When bugs are reported, they're fixed. And it's free.
Max and Stefan, I haven't seen a real response to any of the concerns expressed here, other than "Look at all the wonderful changes from 1 to 2", and "If you pay us, we promise to make IMAP work and fix the other bugs when we get around to it".
Please don't let a once-leading-edge product fade into obscurity.
________________________________________________________ Current beta is 3.00 Beta/1 | 'Using TBBETA' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html IMPORTANT: To register as a Beta tester, use this link first - http://www.ritlabs.com/en/partners/testers/
