🚀 go-pugleaf

> In reply to Thomas Michanek, messages 36 and 62

As I've tried to explain to you, those message numbers have no
meaning to me, as I read this forum as a Newsgroup. (In the
Newsgroup system, you reply to specific messages, creating a
traceable thread, instead of adding messages in a long chain.)

> Keep in mind that even Thomas Michanek suggests that if a group represents
> a sufficiently large number of users, Adobe will listen. The web is the
> perfect way to obtain the support of a group of otherwise unconnected users.

I applaud your enthusiasm, but I disagree. My conclusion after using FM
for 12 years is that Adobe will listen to a group of users representing a
sufficiently large "pool" of licenses. But, this assumes the "pool" is
coherent and can stand by a commitment to buy upgrade or new licenses.
This is most easily accomplished if all licenses belong to the same
organisation or company. If you gather 1,000 disjoint people that claim
they need a certain feature and will buy licenses accordingly, that
commitment isn't worth as much for Adobe to base a business decision on.
This is my standpoint, and you can choose to agree or disagree.

> You can't discount the persuasive power of a face-to-face meeting with
> people who have substantial influence in these matters at Adobe.

To quote one of the people involved with my own effort a few years ago:

"Approach to this project:
I think that if you take the wrong approach when contacting Adobe that
there is a big danger that the whole effort will turn into a big public
relations event that does not have any lasting effect. You don't want
some senior executive saying to the staff 'you are treating users who
make suggestions badly' and the staff responds by writing you nice
letters thanking you for your suggestion. You get invited to Adobe for
lunch with the executives. You get your picture taken at the appropriate
trade show. But in the end very few of your suggestions are actually
implemented.
I have worked for several software companies and this is the way they
would have responded to this type of complaint. Lots of sweet talk and
very little action."

The idea was to contact Adobe with a letter explaining how the users
feel that suggestions are treated together with a list of enhancement
requests representing a large number of "framers".

I don't want to discourage anyone from trying, but be aware of the
effort needed and the possibility of failure...


-- 
/Thomas Michanek, FrameMaker/UNIX/MIF expert
mailto:Thomas.Michanek@telia.com
http://go.to/framers/