Re: Anyone familiar with "aspforums"?

[puff -at- guild -dot- net]

> > Dick Margulis wrote:
> >> I found a free engine for adding a discussion forum to our Web site, 
> >> at www.aspforums.com, and it looks like just the ticket for what I 
> >> want to do. [...]
> >> Unfortunately, because it is freeware (GNU Public License),
> >> there is no support available.
> >
> > To be picky, it's not freeware, it's free software. Freeware doesn't 
> > cost anything, but doesn't release the source code. Free software may 
> > or may not cost something, but is free in the sense that it releases 
> > the source code. Anything released under the GNU GPL is free software 
> > by defintion, or possibly open source,which is much the same thing.
> 
> Yes. I was searching the bottom of my brain for the right phrase, but it 
> was hiding under some dustbunnies in the corner. Thanks.

     We all have those moments.  But what bugs me is that assumed
causal relationship - "because it is freeware there is no support
available."  In fact, the lack of support is probably not at all
related to the fact that it's free software.  Now I'm afraid I have to
go off on a rant (not directed at you personally, of course) about the
myth of technical support being available (let alone better) for
commercial software.

     I used to write docs for a living.  During that time I dealt with
the tech support guys a lot, and I even did a one-week stint working
in tech support.  I know those folks worked hard, but I develop
software for a living now, and I've dealt a lot with the commercial
software world from the other side.  The idea that commercial software
is supported is a myth. I've found that the support companies offer is
often literally non-existent, or consists largely of:

     "Yeah, you can't do that." 

     "Oh yeah, we know about that one, that's a known bug." 

     "Did you make sure it's plugged in?  Okay, going to line 2 on my
      checklist..." 

     "Just let me jot this down and I'll research it and get back to
      you - now you said you're using this 'computer' thing to do
      what?"


     Free software - which is by definition open source, although not
all open source software is free, and certainly not all open source
software is "free software" - may not be any better supported (witness
this aspforums thing) but more often than not, it is.  

     Additionally, searching for resources for free software and open
source software tends to be more of a "broad and shallow" search
across the internet. Commercial software, tends to require either
winding your way through a maze of tech support menus, ora "narrow and
deep" search in a private web site (cf. Oracle's technet, or
Microsoft's knowledge base).  Guess which domain has had countlessly
more time and effort spent on developing good search tools?

     Finally with the source available, somebody who knows programming
can crack open the code and figure out what's going on if there's a
bug in mission-critical software.  This is not always a "last resort",
either, sometimes it's the *first* thing I check!  And while having to
publish the source doesn't guarantee cleaner and more understandable
code, it certainly encourages it.

     If you're interested in finding some forum software for your
site, I suggest you surf over to http://thinkofit.com/webconf/index.htm 
read up on the different options. 

Steven J. Owens
puff -at- darksleep -dot- com


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