Garrett

>>Tossing around unsubstantiated allegations is another thing. It's easy to say "There are MVPs who don't deserve it because of the stated criteria for the award", but until you name names, as you did above, it's just so much hot air.<<

You just had to pull that one, didn't you. Let me try again.

My perception is that MVP status is not always due to ongoing online technical contribution, that there is a self-selected elite, and that people remain MVP's long after they stop being leading contributors in on-line forums. Judging from other posts, I'm not alone in that. This is not the same as saying "people do not deserve to be MVPs". Show me where I said that. You can't.

I based these comments on my experiences in 1996. GT asserted that it had improved since then but could not point me to a resource where I could find more about it. On that basis it is reasonable for me to rely on my experience and not simply accept a contradiction.

If you think I am wrong and that matters have improved, you need to show me the resource I ought to use to educate myself. Where is it? If it is not available then you have a transparency problem and it is a bit hostile to criticise me for not somehow knowing when you have not provided the resource.

As for naming names; I would have preferred not to name names and would not have had to if you had done the obvious (as I asked twice) and provided a list of MVP's, preferably with the forums where they provide the technical assistance to be a MVP. Actually I am surprised if you do not do this routinely so people can seek out particular experts. I would be fairly sure, for example, that not everybody knows about the Compuserve forums.

I say again: could you please post the names of all the MVP's *somewhere* obvious so we can see who they are and what forums they participate in. FWIW, I had no idea that Paul Maskens still frequented Compuserve (I left when the forums diminished after MS started its own newsgroups) and would strongly recommend he and AK as very wise old FP heads. If he is only on Compuserve, that is something people might like to know. And if > L < is still active, I'd really like to know- it was her book that got me started in FP in 1992 and she did some superb work for my company in 1999.

Regards

JR