From: cowboy@trans.csuohio.edu (Joe Rosenfeld)
Subject: Re: tin flame
Organization: Cleveland State University
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 12:11:00 GMT

Jay Geertsen (jgg@fc.sde.hp.com) wrote:
: > Earlier this evening I compiled and installed tin 1.1 PL8, having gone
: > through the CHANGES document and determined to my satisfaction that
: > the greatest difference between it and PL7 was the elm-style
: > "mini-menu."  No sooner had I installed it, however, than I started
: > receiving complaints from my users about key settings changing,
: > specifically "t" and "T".
: > 
: > There it is, listed in CHANGES, but buried in between the rest of the
: > fixes in declarations and platform idiosyncrasies.  Furthermore, it's
: > listed as a "bug," when it seems nothing more than a change from
: > behavior that Iain didn't like.  First "f" and "F" get swapped, and
: > now this.  Does anyone actually want changes like these made?  Or are
: > they subject simply to every whim that strikes Iain's fancy?

: > I've decided that here I will not install future patches to tin unless
: > they take the package to a new version number, such as 2.0 (and
: > perhaps not even then) or fix major problems that people are
: > experiencing.  The changes are simply too erratic and unpredictable to
: > loose on my users every few weeks without warning.

: Gosh, you're _so_ perceptive, Tim!  How insightful of you to recognize
: that Iain simply woke up one morning and said to himself: "I think I'll
: screw over the users of Tin for no good reason whatsoever."  I'd
: certainly be flattered by such an assumption made about my character and
: professionalism.  It certainly was rude of him to give advance notice of
: only several months that the changes to which you refer were coming.  In
: the future, if he doesn't give you a personal phone call to advise you
: of them, I'd have him shot.  After all, it's not reasonable to take
: responsibility _yourself_ for your oversights and rudeness, is it?

: Having had numerous exchanges with Iain and being convinced of his
: desire to please the users of Tin, your posting comes off to me as just
: so much hot air.  That said, let me summarize how your posting comes
: across to me:

: "In spite of the fact that Iain constantly solicits feedback on Tin and
: personally responds to suggestions and comments about it in a timely
: manner, I got screwed by not reading the release notes about a change
: that he had publicized for months, so I thought I'd just whine in a
: public forum in an attempt to embarass Iain instead of contacting him
: privately so as to give him a chance to respond to my concerns
: personally before I vented my spleen."

: - Jay "Shoot first, ask questions later-right?" Geertsen

Right on, Man.  This guy really must have lead a sheltered life.  Iain, if
you listen to this, just ignore this guy.  I am very impressed by how muvch
you involve your program users.  I have always been happy, and I always
upgrade the same day you post a patch.  I particularly like the ability to
use the same .newsrc file with both NewsGrazer and tin.  Nice job!

What I do, after a new release is make note of any changes and put out 
a single-page memo, detailing changes.  This is what system admins are
supposed to do.  This guy is rude, crude, and he lacks the social graces
which must make software writers want to just stay private.  Why this guy
wants more Microsfots is beyond me.

Cowboy

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