Tell us how you really feel about MS and the MVP program. Or are you just bitter about something? The MVP Program is a reward for the past [primarily on-line] year's support efforts and not what we will *do* for MS in the upcoming year to try to be awarded again. Sure it may have its warts like anything else. The benefits an MVP gets from MS is usually far outweighed by the amount their time is usually worth in billable hours.

FWIW, I believe this program started out as "Calvin's List" [Calvin Hsia] of FP/VFP developers who provided significant on-line support on CompuServe.

>Hi Robert,
>
>This is my understanding of the MVP program, which certainly would be at odds with most MVPs understanding of the program. I am not a MVP. <g>
>
>
>In the remote parts of Alaska the winters are cold and long, and the terrain is covered in snow and ice most of the year. Travel is usually accomplished by a shield pulled across the snow and ice by a pack of Alaskan Huskies. The dog that is out front of all the other dogs is referred to a the lead dog.
>
>A MVP is a lot like the lead dog in a team of Alaskan Huskies. The owner of the pack of Huskies observes the pack looking for certain traits. The owner want to find the dog that is the smartest, bravest, most domineering, and most respected in the pack. As the leader of the pack moves about, the other members of the pack will always follow. The leader of the pack is the dog that always drink and eats first. Whenever challenged, the leader of the pack will do combat a vanquish any threat to his leadership. The leader of the pack, once trained, is anxious to please his master and will fight for his master, even to the death. Also, the lead dog, when commanded, will pull the shield to the point of his death from exhaustion.
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>Once the owner of a pack has identified and trains the lead dog, he has control of the pack through his control of the lead dog.
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>To me, this is kind of how the Microsoft MVP program works. You can think of the owner of the pack as Microsoft, the lead dog as Microsoft's MVPs, The VMP program is a powerful sale tool use by Microsoft. Microsoft, through its control of the MVPs, can direct the group in whatever direction Microsoft choose for it to go. Today, Microsoft has a very strong .Net focus, almost to the exclusion of everything else.
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>I had better get out of here before the bees start swarming. <bg>
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>Regards,
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>LelandJ