E-mail that crashes PMMail 2000

[Bruce Francis]

On Thu, 13 Apr 2000 13:54:18 -0700, Steve Lamb wrote:

>    PMMail's core group consists mostly of old time OS/2ers.  Some have moved
>on, some have not, but there generally is one common thread for them all.
>They're about as rabid as a pack of Amiga users at the scent of a possible
>release of their beloved product.  PMMail, to many, is held at that same
>level.

Whew, Steve.   I've been involved in this thread (and just told
myself a while ago that I should now go back to keeping myself
at the bottom end of messaging statistics :)   earlier, but don't
want myself counted into this description.

The reason I've been a bit vocal of late is still embedded in some
of what you write, though.   I am an engineer, programmer, and
don't abide by any lack of information flow between me and my
customers.   You start your example of IMAP by pointing out
that this has been in discussion, if not promised, for slightly more
than 2 years now.

It appears now that BSW's answer to all of this (as is a lot of 
company's) is to just not give out any projections until the product 
is /done/.  The phrase "I don't want to mislead anyone or give anyone 
false  expectations" has been used in this regard, in this forum, as has
"it's impossible to make 100% accurate predictions in software 
development."   The second is true, of course, but this just means
that you need to make /alterations/ to your gameplan.  I understand
that, as it is my business, and I suspect others do too.

My problem has not been the lack of a release, not at all.  It has
been the lack of any conveyance of a buglist, a plan.    AND there
surely was a plan, as Jimmy just told us that a bugfix update to
both versions is possible (note I did not say "likely") "within the 
month.  Possibly even sooner.  Testing in house should be beginning 
here in the next few  days."   Well, if they are that close to in-house
testing, then there is surely some sort of a list of what they've been
working on, no?   I doubt that the programmer(s) are so good that
he/she/they can *begin* working on this a few days before completing
it .... so I have to think they have a list of changes and fixes that are
/done/ not just projected.

Anyway, I just wanted to clarify my point.  I'm not rabid about a
new release, and I don't consider Jimmy's message of today throwing
chum on the water.   It does bother me that the company stance is to
not give out /any/ information, as that is perceived as better than giving
out information and then revising it as need arises.

(Trevor:  I work for a /much/ smaller company, BTW.   Much smaller.
   and more than 100% busy too.)


--- 
Bruce Francis              BFrancis@pobox.com
 For PGP Public key:  email with Subject "BFrancis Public Key"
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