John,

I'd like you to go back and read what I said to him. I said (multiple times) that if he's happy/comfortable with VFP, if it suits him fine, then that's great.

If people wish to celebrate Fox and talk about their success stories, you won't hear much from me. I think it's an outstanding product. We're coming up on the 15th anniversary of the release of FoxPro 1, a watershed event. I used FP1 for an app that year that resulted in an award from the Department of Agriculture.

I don't see how you could wonder if I'm advocating that his specific Church is a natural target market for .NET. I'm really perplexed why you asked that...or maybe I don't understand the question. I made no statements to suggest he should 'follow' any direction, as he seems perfectly happy. But to clarify the matter, I'll answer the specific question with a simple "no".

(But to answer the more general question: assuming sufficient hardware, .NET CAN be a viable tool for 'mom and pop shops'. But just because it is doesn't mean he should go out and convert it. If he's happy and they're happy, then that's that).

But, there's another part to this. There are periodic statements regarding .NET on this forum that demonstrate a lack of intellectual accountability. Sometimes they take the form of snide (and even silly) remarks like ".NOT, .HISTORY, .NOTYET, etc."...sometimes misinformed opinions presented as facts...and sometimes in the form of well-chosen manipulation of words intended to cast doubt on .NET's capabilities. The common theme is a personal bias against .NET. It is ironic that tactics used back in the mid'90's by Fox-haters against Fox are now being used by some Fox people against .NET.

This is a technical forum, not a coffee shop, and people need to be held accountable for what they say. Doesn't mean someone needs to be slapped with an e-ruler or confronted with willful provocation for saying something incorrect. But when comments are made that are rooted in personal biases and/or lacking in any foundation, then a response is appropriate.

On the COBOL reference...just like there are COBOL apps out there today, I'm sure than 10 and even 20 years from now, there will still be Fox apps. But I go back to something that John Petersen and I said a few weeks ago - over time Fox will likely (at best) be maintained, .NET will likely be innovated.

Kevin