I think you are absolutely correct about everything you said. I also think his personal attacks - like all personal attacks on forums like this - were unworthy of anyone with the intelligence to do this for a living - much less to do it at the level JVP does it. Mental horsepower is not his issue, but intelligent human interaction often seems out of his reach.

But the ideas were often met with vitriol that was more emotional than technical as well. And I think it unfortunate that the message got mingled with the messenger.

My only problem is with the idea that any realistic assessment of Microsoft corporate strategy puts one in peril of being branded a heretic.

But I definitely agree that gratuitous viciousness played a big part in JVPs message being dismissed. ( that doesn't - of course - explain why the same message was often met with equal venom when delivered by much more user-friendly folks )



>>But JVP has his own style and some people find it abrasive and/or threatening and a lot of Fox people really feel threatened by any indication that the future is not unfolding as they would wish. But wishing don't make it so.
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>I usually stay out of these discussions, but I think someone has to be willing to say that JVP attacked people in a vicious manner when it served his purposes. I was one of his victims. I still have a saved messages that someone sent me privately at the time regretting JVP's behavior, hoping it wouldn't drive me away from the UT.
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>Among his public assertions was that I couldn't possibly have written very much of the Hacker's Guide, that Ted must have done most of the work. I just spent way too long looking for this, but here's the quote. It's in a long message (#361980) where he rips HackFox to shreds. Then he says this:
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>"Now, I need to be mindful here of Ted Roche. I have the utmost respect for Ted. I know that he does real work. I am also of the opinion that if Ted was not involved in the project, the project would have not been the success it turned out to be. Also, Steve Black was part of the 3.0 HG as well. And, while he did not receive cover credit, my guess is that Steve's contributions were extensive. For as long as I have known Steve, I have never known him to be "partially" involved in anything."
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>IOW, the book is only any good because Ted and Steve are involved and I made no positive contribution.
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>JVP was banned for the way he fought with people, not what he said.
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>Tamar