I have an idea.

Why don't you and JR consider yourselves Project Leads of the WillMicrosoftMarketVFPBallBuster project of the VFP community. As such, you will specialize in said endeavor and will lead a team of those who also share your enthusiasm. You already have a list.

However, as a Project Lead, you must realize and respect the fact there are those who have other projects, priorities, ambitions, and enthusiasms which have little or nothing to do with yours.

In other words, don't CC me on this topic. I'm am trying to be nice.

>Hi Doug,
>
>I don't for a second doubt that you've done more than your part to promote both the development and marketing of VFP. The point I have a problem with is that, while we seem to be essentially in agreement about the need to improve VFP marketing, you offer a rationalization for others who share this view not to add their names to the list. Where is it written that one might not have good reason to put their name on a list stating their intention to consider putting their name on another list? I can give you plenty of counter-examples: registering to vote, voting in a primary election, putting your name on a petition to have an issue placed on a ballot, joining a civic organization, etc.
>
>I'm not sure how closely you've been following all of the discussion, but it seems to me that the notion that a letter doesn't already exist in some very real sense has been laid to rest (see http://fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?Wiki~WillMicrosoftMarketVFP_WhereIsTheLetter). I tried to make that even clearer, not only at the beginning of this thread, but also in my most recent non-announcement, where I proposed exactly what text could and should have been inserted into yesterday's issues of the Microsoft Direct Access Newsletter and MSDN Flash (see http://www.levelextreme.com/wconnect/wc.dll?UniversalThread~?2,41,17,486657).
>
>With the recent news about plans to remove VFP from VS.NET, the usual absence of visible VFP marketing is especially damaging to this community. How can we ever hope to make a credible reply to skeptics about the future of VFP in the face of the blatant contradiction of what Microsoft says to the world, and more importantly what they fail to say week after week? I think we need to pursue every reasonable avenue to correct this problem as quickly as possible, and there is no excuse for delay. I support your behind-the-scenes efforts. Please support our efforts too, Doug, because we're on the same team.
>
>Mike
>
>>Hi Mike.
>>
>>>I hope you'll excuse my fervor.
>>
>>Fervor is good. I'd rather discuss things with a passionate person than someone who doesn't care or always agrees with everything you say.
>>
>>>All I ask is that you let me add your name to the list. Otherwise, you're pertpetuating the disparity between VFP development and VFP marketing, which is the whole problem in the first place.
>>
>>Not the old "if you're not part of the solution then you're part of the problem" argument? Surely you can do better than that <g>. That's pretty much what I've been objecting to in this whole discussion. Here's a summation of my main points:
>>
>>- Just because someone hasn't been active publicly doesn't mean they haven't done their part.
>>
>>- I'm not interested in putting my name on a list that says I'll put my name on another list. You can count on me to put my name on the "letter" if after reading it, I agree with the content.
>>
>>Doug