Hello:
I think all of you (vendors) are here for the same reason. Posting here, you have access to 30,000 ET subscribers, some of whom are prospective users of your products. After all, sales is a numbers game. If even a small percentage of readers decide to try your product, you have made it worth your while. The unfortunate fact is that most of the time, your products do not live up to the advertising hype. In addition they are often overpriced, and under supported (although I have to say that Esignal has improved greatly in this area). All vendors face the same challenges and are attracted by the opportunities that a captive audience of 30,000 subscribers might provide. If this were not true why would vendors ask for subscription and demographic data when evaluating ad rates in trade magazines, trades shows, and websites? So lets cut the bullshit ladies and gentlemen. The "we don't need this" line is crap. In fact, you sure as hell do need every possble new customer you can find. I think all of you need to get in touch with your client base. In general, what we want are products that do what you say they will do, without having to obtain a graduate degree in computer science to get them to work. If you can provide that and also have a support person who speaks english available by phone, you might see less "flaming" when you post. I'm not going to hold my breath. Lefty.
