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Guidelines for posting threads

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    Guidelines for posting threads

    Can someone at AS please outline what is and is not permitted on discussion threads?

    Numerous threads get removed, many times without an apparently obvious transgression of "the rules" ... whatever those rules may be!

    The value of any discussion board increases when subscribers can freely state their views and the existing posting guidelines unfortunately appear to be a little unhelpful regarding what is and is not permitted.

    #2
    Re: Guidelines for posting threads

    See Announcements, first sticky post. However that is for us Moderators, not necessarily the owners. Most of the removed discussions, I believe, and i think Alpha even believes, contain valuable discussion and opinion.
    Steve Wood
    See my profile on IADN

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Guidelines for posting threads

      Originally posted by Steve Wood View Post
      Most of the removed discussions, I believe, and i think Alpha even believes, contain valuable discussion and opinion.
      Steve is exactly right. There used to be an old communist joke: We East Europeans have peace alright - the peace of a cemetery (okay, it's not that funny, but if you lived under communism...).

      Anyway, if Alpha keeps deleting threads like this, they may be left with a cemetery. Killing free & open discussion, regardless of whether it's about pricing, time-bombs or Alpha policy is NOT helping Alpha one bit, no matter what they may believe. And I have been as loyal a customer as any - having bought almost every product and every version they have ever sold - for over 20 years!

      And BTW: for 20-years Alpha never deleted anything! - until the last 6-months or so.
      Last edited by Peter.Greulich; 06-28-2013, 11:38 PM. Reason: Addenedum
      Peter
      AlphaBase Solutions, LLC

      [email protected]
      https://www.alphabasesolutions.com


      Comment


        #4
        Re: Guidelines for posting threads

        I have already seen that post, Steve.

        Again, the value of any discussion board depends on an open dialog being fostered among subscribers.

        If that is not possible and threads keep disappearing due to some arbitrary system of censorship or paranoia, then it becomes pointless making an effort to contribute or even read!

        As Peter says, you end up with a "cemetery" of sorts.

        (I too have been a customer ... starting with A4 ... since the mid-1980s).
        Last edited by Paullm; 06-28-2013, 11:44 PM.

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Guidelines for posting threads

          Alpha has just released Alpha Anywhere and we can download and test it and from release notes everybody can read all the new features.
          So now we know what future looks with Alpha Anywhere (at least two years from now). Nothing unclear here.

          Now we also know the pricing. Subscription is the only way to buy. So nothing unclear here. Deployment license needed. Nothing unclear here either.

          All the facts are available. As a customer point of view it is too late to change anything.

          Lets just concentrate to the development and forget opinions for awhile. It is time to relax.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Guidelines for posting threads

            And BTW: for 20-years Alpha never deleted anything! - until the last 6-months or so.
            It was about a year ago.

            I don't much care anymore. Getting myself ready for a whole new world. Seems the new/changed pricing is not going to happen.
            Dave Mason
            [email protected]
            Skype is dave.mason46

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Guidelines for posting threads

              Originally posted by Peter.Greulich View Post
              Steve is exactly right. There used to be an old communist joke: We East Europeans have peace alright - the peace of a cemetery (okay, it's not that funny, but if you lived under communism...).

              Anyway, if Alpha keeps deleting threads like this, they may be left with a cemetery. Killing free & open discussion, regardless of whether it's about pricing, time-bombs or Alpha policy is NOT helping Alpha one bit, no matter what they may believe. And I have been as loyal a customer as any - having bought almost every product and every version they have ever sold - for over 20 years!

              And BTW: for 20-years Alpha never deleted anything! - until the last 6-months or so.
              I would say that is one piece of evidence that shows that Alpha may be going in "full panic mode" right now. It sees it has manoeuvred themselves in a tricky situation and it does not know a way out yet. Hence in blind panic it is deleting threads as a symbol for deleting threats to Alpha.

              Several things are clear: taking in that many high-payroll-position employees is going to propel costs upward like crazy. Especially in times of economical crisis. Costs that we all will have to pay. Alpha is filled up with CEO's, CTO's, Presidents and a truckload of Vice-Presidents who all want to drive "a Mercedes" on our expense. That is enough to pull almost ANY Business Plan sideways for ANY small company. For such a small company I would say it's almost laughable. There are more chiefs than foot soldiers. And sales of v12 seem to have stuck (which does not surprise me a bit). At some point, this must lead to internal frictions and feelings of panic.

              The number of posts for desktop in the v12 forum shows that virtually nobody from the old desktop developers is upgrading to v12. There even aren't new customers in effective numbers asking questions. The reason for that is clear to me: Alpha has failed to built in strong points of sale for v12 for the desktop crowd, OR it fails to "sell" the new features to that group, which happens to be the roots-customer group of Alpha. That is a dire mistake. Any company wanting to expand operations has to cherish it's roots customer group since otherwise it will have no fall-back if things do not go as planned. There have been many reasonable questions on this board with regards to "what is new for the desktop in v12" but none were answered to satisfaction. Only with advertising language like "huge amount of work" and stuff like that you would expect in any average toothpaste commercial. That does not work with developers. We want facts. And after those questions popped-up, what did Alpha do to answer them? Nothing. I find that rather amazing. To me, it starts to look like roadrunner running full speed towards a cliff.

              Alpha needs to step back on its footprints until the exact moment it went wrong and decide for a new course. Painful maybe, but necessary and life-saving.

              If I were Alpha, I would start forming a "customer advisory board" to ensure that the voice of the customer does not get killed (like it is now) but heard instead. Alpha needs to understand that it builds products for its customers. Not for any virtual customer that may be attracted but is not in the house yet.

              Unlike most here, I am not that in favor of taking in "experience of the past". In IT, nothing is about the past, it's all about the future. Like some enlightened brain here said a few days ago: they need to enroll bright and talented young people that may not know how things were done in the dark past, but that do have a vision of how things will be done tomorrow. Not because they reason from past experience, but because they are standing with one foot in the now, and one foot in the future. Google has made that philosophy to a type of Art and proves on a daily basis that it works. And by this I do not mean enroll talented young programmers who can dance the dance from the past. Instead of old rock-and-rollers or hippie-era managers we need sprankling young visioneers. Hard to find, yes, but because of that a priceless virtualizer for ANY IT company who has to be up in front of the line. Alpha has never done a good job of being in front of the line. It has never been a trend-setter but always a trend-follower. In due time.

              Did I just delete this whole thread?

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Guidelines for posting threads

                Originally posted by DaveM View Post
                It was about a year ago.

                I don't much care anymore. Getting myself ready for a whole new world. Seems the new/changed pricing is not going to happen.
                Come on Dave. Of course it will. You know that as well as I do. There is not much that Alpha can change about that.
                Either it changes its pricing and licensing policy, or it ceases to exist. Current financial reserves are limited and will only stretch the policy of holding on to bad decisions for just so long.
                In the end, Alpha can steer it's ship in any direction they want, but the shore will stop the ship. It's all a matter of time and v11 offers us enough time to standby and watch the process.
                You have been around long enough to know this.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Guidelines for posting threads

                  Having been away on contract (now finished) I only just came back into this last night.
                  The danger is that the analogy of the cemetery is true. The comments may go underground as there are other forums where Alpha is debated. Perhaps it might be better to have the contributors peeing out of the tent and not into it.

                  I'm still hopeful that there will be a solution to the pricing/subscription conundrum and that the growth pain for Alpha isn't too bad and doesn't affect my business too much.

                  However, all companies go through some form of upheaval as they grow and some may decide to cut the unprofitable parts out and dump the customers associated with those products.

                  Perhaps a more judicial type of editing will take place as opposed to the scatter gun (got 2 of these) approach to just deleting the posts which Alpha don't like.
                  We'll see.
                  See our Hybrid Option here;
                  https://hybridapps.example-software.com/


                  Apologies to anyone I haven't managed to upset yet.
                  You are held in a queue and I will get to you soon.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Guidelines for posting threads

                    Originally posted by mronck View Post
                    Unlike most here, I am not that in favor of taking in "experience of the past". In IT, nothing is about the past, it's all about the future.
                    And we already know the future (at least for two years). V12 is out. It is result of three years work as Richard has said.

                    Alpha Anywhere is not an one night decision from Alpha. They have a business plan. As always in the end the customers have the last word anyway. So lets not worry too much anymore. Lets give Alpha now peace that is what they have asked.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Guidelines for posting threads

                      Originally posted by Ted Giles View Post
                      Having been away on contract (now finished) I only just came back into this last night.
                      The danger is that the analogy of the cemetery is true. The comments may go underground as there are other forums where Alpha is debated. Perhaps it might be better to have the contributors peeing out of the tent and not into it.

                      I'm still hopeful that there will be a solution to the pricing/subscription conundrum and that the growth pain for Alpha isn't too bad and doesn't affect my business too much.

                      However, all companies go through some form of upheaval as they grow and some may decide to cut the unprofitable parts out and dump the customers associated with those products.

                      Perhaps a more judicial type of editing will take place as opposed to the scatter gun (got 2 of these) approach to just deleting the posts which Alpha don't like.
                      We'll see.
                      Ted, if this forum represents the sales in some way, looking at the v12 forum, I see nothing growing but Alpha's costs. We can keep talking about growing scenarios but it is reality that rules the game.
                      Your existing customers, where you have done so much to get them in the house in the past, are your strongest and most important asset. Right now, that asset is neglected and that is a bad thing.
                      Is it influencing your business? If you are an Alpha Developer: yes. Of course. Maybe not now, but then tomorrow. Therefore you must act now, and not tomorrow since by then the harm has been done.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Guidelines for posting threads

                        Originally posted by kkfin View Post
                        ...Alpha Anywhere is not an one night decision from Alpha. They have a business plan...
                        That's what you say. I don't know about you, but I have been creating business plans by the hundreds as a former chartered accountant. Current research learns, that business plans seldomly come true to the extent their effectiveness is largely doubted now. One can present any business plan as one wishes and "prove" almost any scenario. It really says nothing but how optimistic the entrepreneur is. And believe me, when he needs to attract capital, he can be VERY optimistic. Reality has a tendency to take its own path.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Guidelines for posting threads

                          They have a business plan because they have a new investor. They can't turn boat anymore. In a year we will see the reality.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Guidelines for posting threads

                            Originally posted by mronck View Post
                            That's what you say. I don't know about you, but I have been creating business plans by the hundreds as a former chartered accountant. Current research learns, that business plans seldomly come true to the extent their effectiveness is largely doubted now. One can present any business plan as one wishes and "prove" almost any scenario. It really says nothing but how optimistic the entrepreneur is. And believe me, when he needs to attract capital, he can be VERY optimistic. Reality has a tendency to take its own path.

                            every good Businessplan states that you can not bet on a (1) horse and if you do not take into account other options for profit " instead of loss" in your own daily business , you're Omega.....

                            "Of je het leuk vindt of niet leuk vindt!!, Het is zo ...! (Nick en Simon)
                            Last edited by bea2701; 06-29-2013, 06:44 AM.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Guidelines for posting threads

                              Originally posted by kkfin View Post
                              They have a business plan because they have a new investor. They can't turn boat anymore. In a year we will see the reality.
                              If they can't the shore most certainly will. I agree that time will tell.

                              Most business plans would have 3 scenario's worked out: the "reasonable expectation", the "worst case scenario", and the "best case scenario". All of them is nothing more than building on quicksand since the future can't be written: it just unfolds. Either one of them could become reality, or something completely different. Most scenario's work on a ceterus paribus basis: comparisons that are valid when nothing else changes between the options. Problem is, that this mostly proves not to be the case: taking route 1 instead of 2 may change parameters that change the outcome by themselves: you may develop a business plan based on mobile and what it may bring, but if you forget to take your existing customers with you, at the blink of an eye you are depending on the "new customers" rather than that it is just a welcome factor of growth. As said before: reality finds its own way, we can not make an accurate calculation of the future. We can only make educated guesses. And those often fail.

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