Hi Gary,

Sorry for the delayed comments, but see I rarely come here anymore, and in fact just dropped in to see if my PUTM had run out.

I would like to LOUDLY second your comments.

I am not aware of the basic service reductions that this thread refers to, because I haven't been following the circus of the UT lately. I don't for the reasons that you state in your posting.

When I first started coming to the UT about a year ago, I was initially thrilled with having found such a gathering of people who I thought shared my interests in VFP.

Over that year, I watched flame wars, prima donnas, cliques and otherwise rampant unprofessionalism sweep across this forum. I thought, "gee this isn't such a nice place as I thought", but maybe this is just how all such forums are.

Later, I watched in disbelief when people who I thought were here for the same reasons as I, belittled and attacked others for not paying for this *optionally* fee based service. Even worse, I watched the owners of this list do little to dampen the flames -- it would be censorship they said.

For months afterward personal attacks, and third grade rhetoric seemed the norm--defended with half-baked, psudeo-legal babel arguments about why the bullsh*t was just part of the community.

Unruly drunks, and loud mouth flamers are entiltled to their speech, but when everyone stops patronizing the bar or forum where they hold sway the propritors shouldn't be so surprised.

In the end, the signal-to-noise ratio was such that I found myself coming here less and less. The constant soap opera of whose article was to be attacked, or what inane person was going to get roasted just became little more than hedonistic voyeurism.

I found myself comparing this list to another that I started to read about seven months ago. Not a VFP list, but still about programming. What struck me was that even the flame wars--and there were some-- were at least technical in nature. That people never attacked a person's speech, spelling, nationality, politics, or anything but their statements about software. And the arguments livid and died on the merits--not the persons who stated them.

This place has gotten very disappointing, and I am surprised that anyone would continue to pay for it. Well I won't anymore, that is for sure.

Gary, I just wanted you to know that you are not alone. While many of the things you and I have mentioned are in the past, the scars they left on the VFP community are obviously permanent. If MF wants to think you are insignifcant, fine, but he should know that there are many many more I would guess. Two for sure.

Best,
Bill Caputo