[OT] some further apologies

[Bob Sneidar]

So, I guess I click send before editing too often. I was rather harsh, I see after going back and reading my post. I am a real fan of Livecode, as many here can guess, but I’ve thought through and lived through the difficulties of someone in a corporation trying to sell the virtues of creating custom apps in Livecode. God knows I tried in my last place of employment! 

I put a lot of effort into producing a real bonafide app for them that would have revolutionized how they managed their 5 conference centers. They were doing everything on paper and were constantly getting things wrong because someone somewhere didn’t communicate which someone somewhere else, and some visitor found themselves without a room when they drove up the mountain! 

What I got back was all the reasons it was a bad idea to go with something no one else knew how to work with. “What happens if you leave? Who can maintain it for us? What if we need you to do more later? Why isn’t everyone else using it if it’s so great?” 

So, I guess I am without even realizing it, a bit skittish when I hear someone who criticizes LC, without, ostensibly giving it a real go. I suppose after boiling down all the objections, the answer to why more people aren’t using it is, because more people aren’t using it, which from a logical perspective is no answer at all, but from a practical perspective, is. It’s the same reason why more people aren’t using Macs. Why more people aren’t using Linux. Why more people aren’t using Applesauce instead of milk on their granola. 

The real reason is that people do not like taking risks. They dislike risk so much that they don’t even go so far as weighing the benefits against the perceived risks, unless they have trained themselves to do so. The real currency of almost anything is time. That is what anyone exploring Livecode for the first time is risking. Who wants to devote yet more time from their constantly attenuating stash of available time to learn something that may not pan out in the end? The kernel of real query in the original post is, show me how this is going to be worth my time. I failed to answer that question, or even see it at first for what it was, the same question I’ve have been trying to answer for others since I first discovered Livecode. 

But regardless of my own frustrations from past efforts to get people to just think about things for a bit, I should not be so rude to anyone, even if I (erroneously) think he’s a drive by critic. So to all whom I’ve offended (yet again) I apologize, and take your corrections of my rude conduct seriously. Thank you all.

Bob