Rev Documentation to the rescue

[Chipp Walters]

Dennis Brown wrote:

> I get the distinct impression that many actually do not want to see  the 
> exclusive club of knowledgeable Transcript programmers expand to  
> quickly by having good docs.  It almost appears to be a conflict of  
> interests between professionals who want to keep the highly  productive 
> club small because it is their competitive advantage and  the 
> non-professionals who want to see the user base grow for the  benefit of 
> all.  Also tutorials and other tools provided by  professionals seem to 
> be a sort of advertising that might be lost if  the docs were first class.

OK Dennis, I now know where you're coming from.

I'm sorry you have that impression. AFAIK, it couldn't be further from
the truth (speaking for myself, and probably many other 'professionals'
here). The simple fact is: MOST ALL OTHER X-TALKS have gone out of
business. Some a couple of times!

So...we need to support as many users, in whatever way we can, in order
to maintain our 'tool of choice.' And the fact that RR has conveniently
separated the engine into 2 product lines: DC and Revolution, helps
those who make a serious living with it, differentiate ourselves as
well. So, IMO, all's well on THAT front.

Now, I certainly don't speak for RR, but one thing I know they are smart
about-- conserving resources. Unlike many others (i.e. Allegiant), RR
understands they need to build a good business case for this product and
spend wisely. This means slow and steady growth.

They're in the same boat as many other companies. It used to be
companies paid healthy advances to get someone of Dan's caliber to write
a book. Unfortunately, it's no longer the case. Linspire's (formally
Lindows) VP of Marketing (a friend and a former SuperCard VP) tried to
work out a deal for a book earlier last year, but just couldn't put up
an advance big enough to make it worthwhile.

That being said, thank heavens for this community. It really does
provide support for everyone, and does it quite well. I think it's
probably time to consider real FORUMS, but that's another discussion.
The more people 'chip in' (NPI), the better it gets. Hopefully, soon,
someone will find the resources to help out in the 'Beginning
Transcript' book department.

best,

Chipp