Alan,

Today I have been reading all (I hope) comments in all threads about MS's announcement to stop development after Sedna.

I have read many arguments of those who 'dislike' that decision and of those who 'accept' it. They have provided me several arguments I can use when talking about this to colleagues and customers. However, the arguments of MS have not become clear to me. Several here have shown interest in those arguments, others have stated that a company has no obligation to provide the real argumentation for their business decisions.

In the past, on several occasions, MS representatives here have stated that it is not the habit of MS to tell the community about their long term plans. That was esp. the answer whenever someone asked about the chances of a 10th vfp version. Some developers, customers and decision makers have interpreted such wordings as inclining that no next version would gonna see the daylight. Others came to the opposite conclusion (for instance, me). As it turns out now, the pessimists were the realists after all. Have people like me been fooled for a long time by MS, or has it really been a truly recent decision?

I belong to those who would appreciate a more open explanation of the why of the decision.

Your answer will gonna be vital to my decision to either stay on board, or to abandon this ship as soon as possible. I'm kind of in a shock, really. And if I abandon this ship, it may well be that the next ship isn't one of MS, depending on your answer.