Hello Peter, Wednesday, January 5, 2005, 3:54:58 PM, you wrote and sent the following:
> What's wrong with that, as long as there *is* support? > .... > I'd love to be paid for my participation, but I volunteer anyway like > many others. I just think it's worthwhile. :-) It is worthwhile, I participate on a few lists and forums for various things. But a corporate support person has access to resources that user-based support groups (collectively) do not. They have the ability to go to program managers, programers, testers, marketing people, whoever, and act as client advocates when they are doing the job right and can get answers for impossible or difficult questions. The money argument doesn't hold water. They already charge enough (and recharged it again recently) to afford a customer support person or two. Especially if they are seeking corporate clients... they will have to invest $$ to make $$, and if they get popular and their costs decrease... well, we won't see a corresponding benefit. :) We all deserve vendor support, but a corporation is even less likely to invest limited budget in software that doesn't have at least that... Call it formalism, but a corporation wants a responsible party who represents the company to answer their questions, and their complaints, and that is part of the payment. And we (TBUDL) don't qualify as that responsible party for them (although, let me say this again, we--the indv. users--deserve no less than that either). I prefer user-based support, it is often faster, but I want access to the vendor for the bigger issues. -- Andrew Using The Bat! 3.0.1.33 On Windows XP, 5.1 Build: 2600 New toy for children with short attention spans: boomerangs that don't come back. ________________________________________________ Current version is 3.0.1.33 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
