>Michael-
>
>>I guess a week wasn't enough time for them to fix it, eh?
>
>Let's see. MS has a new OS going public, VFP going RTM, DOTNET going public Beta 2, Office XP, a Smart Tags fire storm, court decisions, the MSN messenger thang, and, finally, they're completely revamping the entire MSDN website. Gee, I can't imagine _why_ maybe they haven't gotten around to it in a *whole* week.
>
>> Not to belittle your personal influence, Craig, but maybe if a few thousand of us voiced our concerns about such "oversights" Microsoft would be a little more responsive.
>
>Not to belittle your choice of venue, but, while I think it's great to voice your concerns, I question the efficacy of posting here on the UT. We are, after all, already on the page, so to speak.
>
>-Nancy

Gee, Nancy, the way you describe it makes it sound as though the release of VFP 7 were coming as a surprise. Please note that it's now more than another week that Microsoft has been too busy to make this one-line fix, and MS' web site confusion doesn't do much to explain the conspicuous omission in the direct mail piece that inspired this thread.

I don't for a second buy the argument that there is any legitimate reason why VFP promotion at this minimal level should await some future event, whether it's the RTM, VFP 7 product availability , the ship date, the next DevCon, or whatever. To pretend that VFP 7.0 is a "new" product is to deny one of its greatest selling points, that VFP is a solid, established, proven product. That doesn't strike me as a sensible marketing strategy.

I started this thread on UT as a response the BS being promulgated by others to the effect that recent events are in any way responsive to the clearly stated purpose of the open letter campaign. No one ever disputed that VFP 7 was coming, and I never criticized the fact that it was late, because that simply is not the issue. The question is whether we can continue to ignore Microsoft's glaring omissions of VFP in the obvious places, namely in Microsoft's own PR newletters, MSDN Magazine, etc. Only Microsoft can correct this, and it must do so for any effective marketing of VFP to take place.

Are we really on the same page? On the one hand, I really do believe that we are in virtually unanimous agreement that Microsoft's VFP marketing could stand some improvement. But clearly we're not altogether on the same page (http://www.ideaxchg.com/ix07/bymda/mdav0016.htm). I'm asking people to make the smallest possible effort to do something constructive. This isn't a blanket indictment of Microsoft, it's a focused effort to fix a very specific problem. I'm sorry if we need to be ever so slightly critical of Microsoft, and I'm not eager to broaden my criticism, but there's no escaping some tiny degree of constructive criticism here if there is to be any change. I assure you that it is my earnest wish that someone on high in Microsoft would simply pick up the phone, call their own editors, and say something like this:

"See here, it's been brought to my attention that we haven't done much to promote Visual FoxPro lately. Let's get on this. Make sure VFP is listed appropriately, and throw in an occasional PR blurb, along the lines of the one in http://www.ideaxchg.com/ix07/bymda/mdav0017.htm. See you on the golf course in 15 minutes, after you've taken care of this VFP business."

We haven't yet gotten through to the person who has the power to do this. When enough of us really are on the same page, it will happen. Will it happen if we do nothing more? What's the point of leaving it to chance? Where is the greater risk, in adding your name to the list, or in withholding it?

Mike