Hi David...

This is exactly my point...

Advisor can run FPA anyway it likes. It can run it into the ground for all I care. And, the reality is that Advisor can run its business any way it sees fit..

That said, as a technical community, we have the right and obligation to question the validity of published articles. This is the only means by which credibility can exist. Another important ingredient of credibility is for authors and speakers to hold themselves accountable. As I have always said, if you like the limelight of writing books, articles, or presenting at developer conferences, you also need to hold yourself accountable for what you say and write. Why? Because folks will heed your advice. Because this is what professionals do. Unfortuantely, this ends up being a bad thing because either the author or presenter knows nothing of what he/she is writing.

So then, how do things get better. By questioning these people and bringing them before the court of public opinion. That said, it is my hope that Tamar, Miriam, and Advsior itself does the right thing. Be professional and hold themselves accountable for what is written and published. Advisor is already on record for asking how they can make things better. What better way to demonstrate the committment than to address the issues here?

Do my tactics appear to be heavy handed? Perhaps. Are my tactics unfair? To some, perhaps? However, printing inaccurate information is not fair to the development community either. Some folks believe that my ranting is a disservice to the development community. I say nay! Rather, the disservice is rendered by Advisor. My service to the community is to enlighten and educate - nothing more - nothing less....

For the bigger question - will things get better? Somehow, I don't think so. Advisor, Tamar, et al.. have to desire change. The fact is, the little best- buddy/clique club is as strong as ever. What motivation is there? At first, with Tamar's removal as Editor, I thought this was a possibility. However, you have an extremely weak managing editor who is either not capable or is not allowed to make the changes required in the magazine. Rather, everything is controlled by the two people ultimately in charge - John and Jeanne Hawkins. Advisor might be the most micro-managed company on the face of the planet.

It should also be noted that this is not an FPA-only issue. The rest of the Advisor pubs are technically suspect when compared to other publications. Fawcette, Informant, etc, beat the pants off them. So, with this in mind, mediocrity is the watch word at Advisor, and with that in mind, it is highly doubtful that things will get better.

So, what should the dev community do? My suggestion is to support FoxTalk and CoDe Magazine. Markus and Rick have the nucleus of a great venture. Their vision of what needs to be in a magazine more than any other magazine, is concongruent with the needs of the development community. Good things can only be sustained if people support it with their checkbooks.

From a conference standpoint, Advisor, for a long time, has had a strangle-hold on the VFP community. I have heard that roughly 450 registrations have been received for the New Orleans show. This is a good start. It is time that Advisor knows once and for all, they are not the only game in town, and further, they ARE NOT in charge. Who is in charge? You, and every other developer in this community. If we vote with our check-books and support those that really service the community, then, and only then, will things get better.