I signed the petition today.
All the negative comments from some people in the community had done more to convince me not to sign than anything else. I'm a pretty laid back guy, but I get really pissed off when people question my integrity.
Few of the comments on my "Why I Haven't Signed" blog entry or the Wiki topic actually tried to make an argument. Most of them amounted to "you're wrong" (that's your idea of a convincing argument?) and "VFP is a great tool" (thanks, know that already).
However, Mike Asherman's comment made me think about this some more. He said, "Adding your name means that you support the cause, not that you believe it is likely to succeed." Good point. I've voted for people I've believed in before knowing they didn't have a chance in winning because it was the right thing to do.
So, I signed as my way of showing solidarity with the community. I still believe this petition is futile and will have absolutely no impact on Microsoft's decision, but I've cast my ballot anyway.
For those of you questioning the reasons why others haven't signed, I suggest spending your time in more productive manners, such as writing code and helping others on community forums, rather than driving the wedge into our community even further. Alienating people by questioning their motives is a sure way to get the opposite of what you desire.
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Doug,
I signed when I saw that people all over the world were signing. It is a good feeling to say what you think, especially if you are at first dubious or (in my case not wanting to be judged by others). The effects of small actions become magnified when many also take those small steps -- even if none of our stated concerns are directly addressed by Microsoft -- it still is a salvo for a cause that is right and it will cause other attacks to be less. You are a leader and your stand will encourage others to follow. Thanks.
Yeah, I did too a few days ago. Primarily because there were some notices that suggested that the VB 6 petition actually did bring around some changes at MS (although I don't know off-hand of any).
I think the issue of "release VFP 10" is being lost with idea of "develop VFP 10". But anyways...who knows what this will bring, if anything.
Without doubts you always showed his solidarity with the community with so many hours devoted to it. His signature is a small "big" grain of sand :-)
This is great Doug, thank you.
I posted on my (b) blog (http://grengama.spaces.live.com/) this morning about an observation made by another writer: That more people from 'developing' countries have signed the petition than US developers. I think that this goes to show that there are people out there who really count on VFP, and it goes deeper than just 'moving on'.
Chances are good that this petition won't change any minds at MS, but like you said it is your "way of showing solidarity with the community". And this will go a long way IMHO.
Thanks for signing even if it does nothing to change MS position, it still sends a strong message coming from well known and well respected members of the community.
I was dubious when MS first bought Fox Software, but then I realized it actually helped it to gain acceptance in some corporate IT circles. Their "business case" for officially announcing a definite end of lifecycle pretty much takes that acceptance and flushes it, potentially devastating shops that have built careers on this platform (I see it as a platform, not just a language)
And, by the way, I voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 and I live in Indiana - but I digress....
Thanks,
roka
Hi Doug,
Thanks for signing, but like another FoxPro developer/customer/sympathize who has done yet. I sorry for the negative comments you received, but this out of the MasFoxpro promoters control.
I express again my thanks to you for what you gave to the community over the years, signing is just another act that counts fewer in what you gave to the people.
I agree with Mike and some can sign for the product, some for his bussiness and others for supporting the community. This last is why the MasFoxPro campaign was created.
Support a good product and a good community.
Hey - I signed with exactly the same thought process that you just described - "won't change the MS decision but it shows that the VFP community has some sort of spirit".
I didn't see anything that came back negatively on the signers (or is it signees) so, in the end, what's the harm?
I didn't like the guilt trip being laid down by those pushing the cause but that was no real reason to not sign - they don't solely represent the VFP community - we all do.
You made the correct decision in my mind, even if it too so long to get through.
As I've written on the VFUG List Server, I want it documented somewhere within the Fox community that I want VFP development to continue at MS. I don't want MS to think that VFP is going out with a whimper where they can say only a handful of people protested, so that their decision at MS to stop VFP development was the right one as far as MS was concerned.
It was correctly pointed out to me that the site's petition further supports the possibility of open source and/or work done by a third party to further develop VFP. My comment that I posted when I signed limited my support to MS continuing development of VFP and not the other alternatives. The other alternartives are unnecessary if MS continues development of VFP.
As someone said, as a sort of captain of the community, I am real glad and relieved that you have signed. Thank you very much. If all those captains sign I believe that we may get MS to act whatever the outcome. For the time being I am staying with VFP and if it's confirm that we will not get life line for VFP in one year, I am moving to Python/Dabo. I still hope that I don't have to make that move. To all VFP developers please have faith that this petition will change the mind of M$. Long live VFP!
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