From: lydick@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU (Speaker-to-Minerals)
Subject: Re: In which SEA gets a job
Reply-To: lydick@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU
Organization: HST Wide Field/Planetary Camera
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 03:53:42 GMT

In article <CEO.92Sep1214816@churchy.gnu.ai.mit.edu>, ceo@churchy.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Chip Olson) writes:
>In article <!#jn06g.lunisea@netcom.com> lunisea@netcom.com (Stephanie Alford) writes:
>
>>DJ looks a little puzzled but before he can ask, Didi-Sprite races to his
>>side and says, "Isn't it wonderful?  Our SEA has found a job that she thinks
>>will make her happy and keep her busy learning for quite some time!"
>
>>"Oh, I guess that I should tell you what I will be doing.  Wollongong
>>Group writes networking software for all sorts of platforms.  I will be
>>spending half-time doing customer phone support and half-time doing
>>administrative assistant support.  It is an opportunity to learn about
>>different operating systems and about networking software.  I will be
>>working closely with engineers again, which is what made me answer the
>>ad in the newspaper.  I start Thursday (9/3) morning.  I'm excited, they're
>>excited,  life is good."
>
>Castellan gives SEA a congratulatory hug. "Welcome to the fun-filled world
>of phone support!  MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA....... :-)"

StM suddenly turns very pale, and says, "Maybe I'd better let Carl field this
one," whereupon he is suddenly replaced by Carl.

"I'd read SEA's post, but it didn't quite sink in at the time, at least not its
full implications:  Phone support at TWG, home of vaporware for VMS.  SEA, I DO
NOT envy you your new job.  Based on what I've read in COMP.OS.VMS and talks
I've had with people who've made the stupendous mistake of getting stuck with
TWG's alleged TCP/IP product for VMS, then of the time you spend fielding calls
for support for the VMS networking vaporware, you're going to spend about half
of it stalling the customers, and the other half of it lying to them.  Whether
you'll be lying because the tech folks admit to you that they don't have the
slightest idea of how to fix the bugs you'll be hearing about, but that it's
your job to tell the customers otherwise, or you'll be lying to them because
the tech folks lie to YOU, you're going to be in a VERY unenviable position. 
If I were you, I wouldn't be in any hurry to dispose of any copies of my resume
I still had left.

"I hope I'm wrong about this, but TWG has just about the worst reputation of
any company I've heard of that supplies third-party software for VMS.  The fact
that, when VMS v5.0 came out, TWG didn't have a compatible version of their
product until THREE MONTHS after the release of VMS v5.0 didn't help their
reputation at all; when the sleazeballs kept telling their customers that the
product was ready and scheduled to ship the next week (and now this sort of
thing is YOUR job).  After hearing this claim about a dozen times, at one-week
intervals, some of their customers got somewhat annoyed.  Especially since TGV
had release a VMS v5.0-compatible version of their product two months BEFORE
the official release of VMS v5.0, and CMU released their v5.0-compatible TCP/IP
package (available for the cost of the tape) at about the time 5.0 was shipped.
And the bastards at TWG had the gall to continue charging their customers for
software support during those three months.  It looks to me like you've just
signed on to a ship that ought to be captained by VanDerVecken.