Re: Suggestion:

[mikeh@minivend.com]

******    message to minivend-users from mikeh@minivend.com     ******

Quoting Yossi Cohen (YOSSI@prodigy.net):
[most snipped] 
> In a way I disagree with some of us who think that because Minivend is free
> we are not entitled to complain about it.

You are of course entitled. One of my favorite sayings is:

    "Find the grain of truth in criticism, chew it, and
     swallow it."

I don't know who said it, but I try to live up to it. I especially try
and remember this when I am feeling a bit thin-skinned. I have learned
that I cannot be everything to everyone.

> It is very much similar to a fancy
> toy given as a gift to a child who doesn't know how to operate it. So how do
> you expect him to enjoy it?
>

I would say it is more like a child picking up some car keys and driving
the car away. They can steer pretty good for a while, at least if they can
see over the dashboard, but the end result is usually that they spin out
of control. I think I do say frequently that MiniVend is complex and it
requires real knowledge of the web and databases. That may change some
day, but for now it is still true.  If I were spouting "easy to use,
anyone can do it!" then I might feel guilty. But I think I come right
out and say that it is not for everyone.

One thing that I don't hear mentioned is that MiniVend is about as
ambitious an application as you will see in the freeware category.
It is, as Brian Bullen put it, at "the top of the pyramid". It relies on
a number of complex underlying pieces and is a face that your customers
see and interact with every day. It is not hidden out of the way where
you might not realize what it is doing; it is directly on the firing line,
and will often get blame that might be due to the underlying parts. Try
and think of another freeware application that is out there that far --
you can come up with some, but there aren't that many. 8-)

I run into all kinds in the process of answering or not answering
questions. I have been called all sorts of names and had people yell at
me on the phone when I tell them I won't answer their question.

There is one person who recently was a little bit of a trial.  They tried
to use MiniVend on a 7-year-old operating system with less than famous
success. They happened to email me with a specific request for information
right about the time Minivend.com was cracked (Linux security hole,
not MiniVend 8-) and I was working 20 hours a day recovering. Normally
it was the kind of question I would answer, if only to say "update your
seven-year old operating system". But I just didn't have the time for
something like that. When I didn't respond in a couple of days, they
started in on posting denigrating comments to newsgroups. (I later saw
the postings but didn't respond.) When something like that happens,
I try and remember I did nothing wrong, and that it does not really
reflect on me. It is getting easier. Once upon a time I would have gotten
a bit upset; today I realize I am one human being with the corresponding
limitations and that that is all right. And that the person who
is bashing me is human too. 8-)

There are many questions I don't answer. I choose to spend what
time I can making MiniVend better in a general sense. I cannot 
possibly tutor everyone who uses MiniVend, and I don't even care
to try. That way lies madness.

I also don't try and get exposure for MiniVend any more. I virtually
avoid it. I turn down every partner request; I don't ask for links
nor do I give any; I turn down book and buy-out offers; and I have not
posted an announcement to a newsgroup for at least a year, maybe even
more. Downloads/page views are running about 8,000/180,000 a month right
now, and that is enough for me. One day if the MV documentation becomes
good enough, I might make a blitz. I think that probably less than 5%
of potential users even know about Minivend, and that a good percentage
of the ones who are aware of it don't know what it is capable of. If
presented right, with good documentation and an easy interface for the
"flycat" and for database maintenance, it could even become a category
killer in the freeware area. The new documentation project will go a
long way toward that; I expect to reduce the number of inconsistencies
quite a bit with their help.

I am quite proud of MiniVend even with all of its faults. I have looked
at a couple of high-end packages and in many ways MiniVend is better. I
have several times rescued clients who committed to a commercial shopping
cart, were stung, and had to recover. MiniVend takes literally thousands
of orders worth millions of dollars every month, and that is only the
sites I work on. I don't know about others, except vaguely of a few
that say they are doing well with MiniVend.

I don't know how many hours I have spent working on it, but I can
tell you that it is a lot. 8-)

I have had people who I respect tell me it is a pretty fair
accomplishment. And it is used in some serious applications in some
serious places. If I make that blitz I will ask some large companies
to allow me to say that they use MiniVend. Freeware is getting less and
less of a sensitive spot with the recent success of Linux.

This has turned into a bit of a rant. I wanted to make sure everyone
knows that I can defend myself and MiniVend quite well, if it even needs
that. It is definitely OK to criticize it. I realize that if people
didn't care they wouldn't take the time; and I believe that if it wasn't
any good then no one would use it. And hundreds or thousands of you 
seem to.

And I get lots of pats on the back too; thanks. 8-)

-- 
Mike Heins                          http://www.minivend.com/  ___ 
                                    Internet Robotics        |_ _|____
Few blame themselves until they     131 Willow Lane, Floor 2  | ||  _ \
have exhausted all other            Oxford, OH  45056         | || |_) |
possibilities.                      <mikeh@minivend.com>     |___|  _ <
 -- anonymous                       513.523.7621 FAX 7501        |_| \_\
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