I risk throwing gasoline on a fire, but I'll take that
risk hoping I can offer some suggestions that will help
the discussion on this thread.
I don't like the negative tone of many recent posts here any more than
anyone else. But I suspect the cause may be an attempt to overcome a
perception that user requests are not being heard. That perception
might even be partially true.
For those that would like me to make changes in WriteLog, I need to
offer some hints. Long time users of WriteLog already know my story:
I work on WriteLog for two main reasons:
1. I enjoy the work. I love contesting. And I think that contesters
should have software support as close to the state of the art as
possible. And if no one can get closer to that than me, then I'll
make my work available. (And I am prepared to accept the consequences
when someone beats me at this.)
2. I can explore and incorporate technologies that I need to
learn for my day job. (For example: WriteLog was not originally
a Windows program. I ported it to Windows 3.1 in 1991. 18 months
later my employer re-targeted several large software projects,
including its most valuable one and the one I was responsible
for at the time--to Windows. These two events are related).
Given my motivations, you might see how N5ZC's well paraphrased
quotes don't have much impact on me:
' I can't get xxxx to work, it should, the author should have
thought of this before, he needs to fix it now'
' The documentation stinks I can't even print it out'
' This feature would be a piece of cake to code, where's Wayne?'
To repeat, I simply delete such messages. Actually, you've done
you cause a little more damage than that, as W2UP's post is correct.
I do have an ego, and if you "piss Wayne off", I simply don't read your
email any more. (This state is not permanent--there are several
reflector contributors that have changed their tone and I now read
their emails.)
So how do I get things onto my to-do list? WC1M's post is
the best advice: well-reasoned suggestions that benefit a significant
fraction of users, or make things better somehow are quite welcome.
They do make my list, and I do work on them.
There is a limit to how fast I can make things happen, however. You
can get a feel for that rate by reading the revision history at
http://www.writelog.com/rev_history.htm. That shows our track record
over the past 3 years. (I switch to plural because I only write the
software--getting it into the product requires beta testing, marketing
and all the unseen stuff K5DJ does.)
Most of you probably are not aware that I had a major change in my
job situation last June. After 18 years at the same location in Austin,
my employer decided the best job for me was in Houston. I did not
relocate, but am commuting on a weekly basis. This is not your problem,
but is relevant to this discussion as this disruption lead to a
reduction this year in how much time I could put into WriteLog. I
never make any promises about how much new "stuff" is going to appear
in the product (because, as happened this year, I have other priorities
that can prevent me from keeping such promises) but my family and I
have adjusted to the new situation and the best predictor of my future
effort continues to be the record of what has happened over the past
few years.
I counteract that resource limit by opening up the WriteLog design
using component software interfacing techniques where I see
opportunities. (This is also an example of my motivation #2--I find
commercial applications for these techniques.) These interfaces have
allowed software developers besides me to contribute support for many
contests that I haven't found time to do, to customize the packet
support, to plug in alternative RTTY decoders, to post your log in real
time on the internet, etc. etc. etc.
This expandability is relevant to this discussion because sometimes I
am not the right person to try to convince to make a change. Sometimes
you might try to find someone that's got some programming skills and
convince them add something onto WriteLog.
Finally, I ask that we all "just get along" here on the reflector. I
do read most if not all of the posts, I do maintain a database of
requests for changes, and I do prioritize those in conjunction with my
personal goals for the time I spend on the product. The last few months
have produced more "noise" than I would like, i.e. the percentage of
posts that contain useful information has been lower, but I am not
going to stop reading yet. I still think you are pretty reasonable
bunch of guys. (...but where are the girls? .... I guess that's a
completely different thread...)
Thanks,
Wayne, W5XD
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