Walter-

>Well IMO there are others too who deserve to be treated the same way as a MVP,

I didn't say there weren't. My comment was in your reference to JVP.

> but this attitude of JVP seems to be bugging me here.

Yeah, well, I'm getting really frustrated with people making JVP's personality the issue. If everybody's upset with what they think people *should* be like, then, well you just guarantee that you're gonna continue to be upset. JVP is abrasive. Get over it.

> I got the perfectly right to speak up as much as he does.

I didn't say you don't. That's an issue between you and JVP.

> That I'm a basic member is not an issue at all. There is no written rule that if you're a PUTM you have more right to speak up than others.

I give credence to people speaking out based on one criterion: what's their contribution to the community. Contribution can come in many forms. Contribution to the KB, files sections, willingness to help answer questions, and if, possible, do you commit your financial means to supporting this forum.

>Being a MVP is a recognition by MS having excelent skills, knowledge, being very helpfull to others etc. Note this is a RECOGNITION by MS, not saying that others have less of these properties. To me, for example a person called Erik Moore has perfectly the same (or even better) qualities than the avarage MVP.

You're preaching to choir, here, Walter.

>I never said that a MVP should pay for the site,

I never asked for the membership, and it's not why I'm here. IAC, I'd personally rather have some kind of scholarship fund to help folks who can't afford it but make valuable contributions.

> ...but as mentioned before this gives you no right at all to be rude at people

I'm sorry if I was rude, but as far as I can tell, I've simply disagreed with you.

> I know my strenghts (and weaknesses) within (VFP) development, but simply don't have the time an money to express them here in the UT.

Which is why I don't really understand why this has to be a public bitch session. When and if I get a bill for the UT, I'll make my own decision based on my own resources.

> I'm worried about the future of the UT when it closes the site for basic members.

I agree. I don't like exclusive clubs, but there are lots of other places to get support for free, as has been pointed out in this thread many times. Michel does have a marketplace within which he competes. It's his choice to run this forum as he sees fit, and it is our choice to be here or not.

> I truly believe this would be the end of it:

End of what? The UT? I don't know. The marketplace will decide.

>-Result in the end: a Dead UT.

Well, even if that happens, there was life before the UT. All things change.

>I can, but the thing that holds me from paying is that at the moment I don't own a credit card (few people do up here) and have bad experience with international banking transactions or otherwise.

>Besides this, I used to be very comfortable with the basic membership. The only reasons that I choose for the PUTM is the advanced search mechanism, Private messages (now E-mail), and the offline browser.

FWIW, I started paying for membership not for the features but to support Michel's efforts. I know how hard it is to do this stuff for free. Put it another way, I was able to pay (although it was a very hard sum to come up with), and so I did.