Hi John,

Although some of your statements can be read as offending for Whil, at least by some, I respect your analysis and tend to agree with most aspects.

And indeed, Whil is able (very able) to react, in several ways. He knows where and how. Not doing so can be a wise decision, but it can also be argued that reacting is better under the circumstances.

He indeed wrote one long statement, but questions remain. I think we (perhaps I more than you) MUST react, because he's questioning the viability of vfp. IMO, that is like proclaiming a self fullfilling prophecy, if said by a man of his standing.

Perhaps YOUR proclamations too were like that, but the community has reacted on you in a way that psychologists explain as a mechanism that prevents such a prophecy to happen, that turns it into a self denying prophecy.

And it may be that reactions on Whil like mine are also attempts to neutralize his spell. It is almost impossible to turn his prophecy into a self denying prophecy without saying things that can be interpreted by some as too negative and too personal.

Whil has saught a rather extreme position. That enthousiasm may lower in time, fine, but with regard to vfp and ms he is not even mild anymore. That makes him vulnerable, at least in 'our' community. If he thinks (if you think, Whil) that this is not the position he saught, then he might simply react and clarify this issue.



>>>fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?Wiki~SuggestionsForTheHentzenwerkeWebsite
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>>>This made for interesting reading.
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>What strikes me is that almost all gurus don't react at all on Whil's departure..... They presumably are now experiencing ambigue feelings due to conflict of interests. Most of them are personal friends of Whil or at least wanted this to be.
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>A lot of "gurus" will only react in private. Steve Black has had a public reaction - but he is about the only one I have seen (I don't consider myself a guru in this community anymore..). People like Tamar, Ted, Andy, etc. - they would sooner chop off an arm than criticize Whil in public.
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>Personally, I have almost eaten Whil's Developer's Guide and saw him as one of our leading guides.
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>In some ways, Whil has become a cult figure of sorts. From personal experience, I can tell you Whil is all about Whil. No question that you will get the impression "he cares". But in the end, it is about about business. To a large degree, you can't argue with that - but you do have to question the methods. The whole VFP/Linux issue gives you a clue just how much of a master manipulator he is. I say that in light of the fact that to this day, he as NEVER addressed specific issues I and others have brought up. Instead, he has his minions doing his bidding - here, profox, CIS, etc.
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>This image started to crumble a little bit when his company was sized down. It amazed me, but I was told that the cause was in the private sphere, wife, children, and so on. Life ain't easy, I know...
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>Don't know and I won't speculate into the details. The only thing I will say is that on his site, there was a priceless picture of him, and his family wearing Linux T-shirts. A little weird if you ask me...
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>I compare what Whil is doing today to the counter-culture of the 1960's. Whil is a hippie - straight out of Haight-Ashbury in San Fransicso. He has become the "anti-establishment" - with MS of course being the establishment. Look...I am not saying that Linux , et al. is not a compelling thing to look at - it is. But his rationale leaves one scratching his head. I find it hard to believe that he has been "burned" by the whole MS Windows experience. Everything he has accomplished is because of Fox, Windows, etc. Heck, Whil wrote a book on Access years ago. That was under the radar a bit and did not get a lot of play in the Fox Community. I understood what he was doing. He saw a business opportunity and tested the waters.
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>His actions, to put it bluntly, are bizzare.
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>A next signal was when I noticed that he no longer wrote those beautiful editor's notes for Foxtalk, at least not each month. Also, the size was reduced, perhaps due to a somewhat passive attitude?
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>IMO, he should have been blown out of the editor position at FoxTalk a LONG time ago. It definitely should happen now given his stated position.
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>But what did it signal? I'm inclined to believe Whil's statement as-is, but I don't want to rule out the possibility that other factors are at stake also. But who are we? His judge? No, of course not. In the end, it's his personal decision. Whether it's merely a commercial decision or not, it's his decision.
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>True - but Whil decided to make a public one-way statement on it. And in turn, we have a right to comment...
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>But I'll miss him for sure. Yes Whil, I'll miss you for sure. I hope for you that you made a good decision and I hope for myself that I make a good decision to stick to the fox for the time being. Well, isn't this the core of the ambigue feeling?!
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>Thanks...It does make for conflicted feelings...
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>Take care,