🚀 go-pugleaf

[Note, I've combined a couple of your other messages into this one]


> >Sorry.  Can't comment on that since I wasn't privy to the conversation.  I
> >only have your side of the story on this one.  Since you have yet to say
> >one thing that's good about Netcetera, I'd have to treat it as
> >"suspicious".

> ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR???  There is no need for personal abuse.


What personal abuse? I offered to help you out with your Netcetera
problems, and all I've seen is complaints.  Go back and reread what I
wrote.  I said I wasn't going to get involved in who said what.

> Okay, the following is an extract of an email sent to their customers
> on 28 October:


> TO ALL REGISTERED USERS OF NETC
> ===================================
> 
> With effect from today's date, 28th October 1996, all telephone
> support
> will be charged at 25.00 (twenty five pounds) per hour with a minimum
> charge of 15.00 (fifteen pounds).
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Yup.  I recall that message.  It didn't bother me one bit.  I don't know
why it bothers you.  Unfortunately, this type of support policy has become
common here in the U.S. 

> I suggest you check your facts before insulting anyone & calling them
> a liar.  BTW, I can support all my claims by evidence if necessary.

Relax.  Nobody called you a liar.  And I'm really not interested in
evidence.  I joined this thread so that I might help you out. Remember? 
Why you're so dead set against actually getting the program to work on
your machine is beyond me.

> >What's wrong with that?  Need I remind you about the disastrous early
> >releases of Windows 3.0., or many of the other MS programs?

> You cannot compare an OS with a simple program.....

If you think that Win 3.0/3.1 or even Win 95 are OS's, I suggest
you take some courses on OS development.  But lets make a deal not to
argue about Windows.  O.K.?


> >Like I said earlier, I wasn't there, so I can't comment.  To do so would
> >be unfair.

> If you insist on calling me a liar, I still have the last email I
> received from them with their statements to me.  You really should
> trust people more.  After all, I believe you when you say you have no
> connection with Netcetera.

What can I say?  It's jolly nice of you to trust me.  Again, I didn't call
you a liar.  AGAIN!  I'm trying to HELP here.  Nothing more, nothing less.

> >> Thanks for the offer, much appreciated.  However, I would prefer
> >> support from the Netcetera people themselves, as I paid for this.
> >> Obviously NG support isn't the answer.

> >That's foolish, IMHO.  I don't care WHERE the support comes from.  I
> >just care that I get it.  The net has a vast array or resources to offer. 
> >You should use them.  

> Of course I use NGs for support, as I am now. 

Then why did you write the previous paragraph?

> You know yourself that not all messages get through to NGs. 

You're right.  They don't.  But I don't see you having any problems
raising a stink about Netcetera.  


> >can
> >you mention anything you LIKE about Netcetera?  You obviously saw
> >something positive in the program since you did register it.

> I used the Lite version to try it out and it worked fine.  

That still doesn't tell me what you liked about the program.  C'mon.  I
know you can do it.  Say something positive for a change.  :)

> However, when I paid for it, I was given the "new" NetcGold.

Which still puzzles me.  NetcGold has been rock solid on my machine.

BTW, I have to ask this "'cross the pond question."  I've never heard the
expression "clash" when it comes to computers.  Over here in Yankee land,
we tend to use term "crash".  Are they one in the same?

> Of course, as you will appreciate, just because it
> works on your system doesn't mean it works on all others.  

True.  But that doesn't mean it CAN'T work on the other systems.  It's
probably just a matter of tweaking something.

> When it
> doesn't, it is up to Netcetera to *at least* TRY to sort it out and
> simply not to ignore my emails.

Maybe so.  Or maybe they've given up on you as customer since they think
you'll never be satisfied, no matter what happens.  That's the gist of
most this thread, isn't it?

> >me what your exact symptons are.  How far into the d/l process do you get?

> Nothing at all

O.K.  Now we're getting somewhere....Nothing at all WHERE?  I assume you
click on the globe icon to go on-line.  You get the Online Operations? 
Do you have the program set up to always d/l news, or only when you choose
to?  Whichever, you then click on connect.  What happens next?  Do you get
the Communications Log to open up?  If yes, what messages are appearing in
there?

> >Are you 100% sure that your news server information is configured
> >correctly (i.e. no typos)?

> Yes, as it worked OK for a time & then stopped.

O.K.  So something has changed.  Is it possible that your news server now
requires authorization?  Have you tried, just for the heck of it, to
reenter your news server info.  How many retries do you have it configured
for?

> >  How much free hard disk space do you have?  

> About 100 MG

That's a fair amount.

> >How fragmented is the HD? 

> I defrag end of every month.

I'd defrag much more often than that, if I were you.  While it doesn't
explain why you can't connect, you'll see a vast improvement on your
machine in all applications if you degrag more frequently.  I defrag every
2-3 days.  Databases especially will cause heavy fragmentation.

> >What other programs are running when you are on-line?  
> Usually Netscape but no new programs were installed when it stopped
> working.

Did you upgrade any of your existing programs at around the same time?
How about video drivers (a major culprit in many areas)?  Are you
running any video management s/w. Did you employ DPMS on your machine?

> Of course I want them solved!  I paid for the program & I want it to
> work!  Isn't that simple enough to understand?  You have called me a
> liar (not to my face!) without knowing the facts. 

It's exactly because I don't know that facts that I don't want to comment
further on your private exchanges with Netcetera.  


[From your other message]


>The original question relates to comparing a program written in Basic
>(such as Netcetera) 

Which you have yet to prove.  I've asked you how you've determined this
yet I've seen no reply.


[And yet from another message]

>>> BTW:  They are supposed to read these newsgroups, 

>>OOPS!  I must have missed that one in the docs or my user agreement.  Where
>>does it say that they're "supposed to read these newsgroups"?

>In the Readme file.  It is simple enough to find (near the bottom)
>but, for your information, here it is again:

[Snip Happens]

>===================================================
>Support for Lite users will be provided via our monitoring of the
>following Newsgroups :-
>
>	alt.winsock
>	alt.usenet.offline-reader
>	news.software.readers
>	demon.ip.support.winsock
>===================================================

>Fair enough?  


Certainly is.  I stand corrected.  Thanks for pointing that out.
I guess I should read the docs more closely. Of course, you're no longer a
lite user, but that's another story.

> BTW, they also say they give full & unlimited support to
> all registered users.  

Yes, they did.  But you forgot to mention that the readme file was posted
on August 17, 1996.  Their email message, as you've quoted it, says that
from October 28, they've had a change in policy.  I understand that you
may not like that policy, but that doesn't seem to be your gripe anyway.

Get back to me on the questions about the sequence of events when you try
to d/l news.  It shouldn't be that difficult to solve.  And then maybe we
can let this thread die.

Cheers.

Derek

-- 
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