proposed here for wide discussion prior to finalizing for inclusion in appropriate CHATTER forum category

The Fox Team at MS has proven beyond any possible doubt that they read and heed the UT Wish List! Personally, I can't wait for VFP8 to be released (though I'm perfectly happy to wait until it is ready to publish) and I would tell anyone who hasn't bought VFP7 yet to do so as soon as possible if only to get used to what "Intellisense" can do for them (allowing them to more quickly exploit all of the new stuff coming in VFP8).

The VFP8 features list also proves that the UT Wish List, as currently constituted, is very useable by the Fox Team as it is.

Nevertheless I would like to propose changes that should make the Wish List more useful to the UT membership without impeding the Fox Team in any way. Since VFP8 has several months to go before it ships, I think that there is time available. These are all in the (hopeful) context that there would be no disturbance to the Fox Team's processing/usage of the wish list items.

1) Simplify the "Area" (category) list
-- The list presently has over 100 items and several terms can be found on both the left side and the right side of different entries. Even with such a long list there are missing items. That it takes at least 3 scroll actions to see the entire list, combined with duplication of terms through the list, offers opportunity for the originator to mis-categorize any wish far too easily. This also devalues the search features for the list.

2) Enforce selection of an "Area" (category) list item
-- That there are three (3) pages of wishes under the "API" area (category), where in fact only one or two of them actually pertain to the API area, strongly suggests that many originators do not select an "area" at all (API is the first in the list, so the default entry). This very much needs to be addressed as it significantly devalues the search facility attached to the wish list service.

3) Publish the "rules" for entering new wish items
-- As well as showing them in some UT "Help" and/or preamble included with the link to the actual list, they should be repeated once someone clicks on the "new" icon to enter a wish. The rules could be displayed in a modal MessageBox prior to making the actual wish entry page available for keying or they could be displayed at the top of the wish entry page, right between the title ("Visual FoxPro Wish List") and the "Area" selection comboBox.

4) proposed rules - please add (revise) to these
a) Bug fix requests are not to be entered in the Wish List.
b) Selection of an "Area" (maybe this should be renamed to "Category") is mandatory.
c) Only one (1) wish is to be entered per page, pertinent to the "Area" selected and pertinent to the 'feature' named in the wish Title.
-- If the wish concerns something like "All container controls" then of course it can suggest multiple properties or ideas (or whatever) as long as they all relate to containers in general.
d) Consider the "Title" of the wish carefully, making sure that it well summarizes the gist of the wish.
e) Make full liberal use of the "Description" area so that readers can fully understand your wish.
-- A description like "Ready-made OK CANCEL buttons like Delphi" is not at all helpful to any reader. In such a case it is required that "ready-made" be described, how they can be used, and how they operate.

5) Start with a fresh empty list the day that VFP8 is released
-- Since VFP8 is in beta status - and so can change in many ways prior to actual release - it is not helpful to any of us to propose changes for VFP9 until VFP8 is solid and in our hands. This new list could retain sequence numbering from the old list so that there would be continuity in processing by both UT and MS Fox Team facilities that exploit the list.
-- The old (VFP8, Toledo) wish list could continue to be available for reference, and possibly even for update (though why anyone would edit it is beyond me).

I would really prefer to see a wholesale change in the way that the Wishes (and Bugs, would there be a list here) are handled in UT, but seeing no light on the subject for a long time now I hope that these ideas make some difference in the list's usefulness.

Cheers