I also have received their annual survey and even through I really can’t recall seen any such surveys on recent years, I couldn’t say with certainty. What I can say with certainty is that the survey did show up within days of when the existence of such surveys was questioned on the TOF.
I do share Julen’s views in that anyone visiting this forum without any prior knowledge of Xojo may not look favorably upon the product. But then I have to add that removing any sentiment about the product and viewing it pragmatically; there is only one real reason this forum came to existence, and that reason resides entirely with Xojo’s team. In other words, this year they have created a new environment of intolerance within their hosted platform. An environment that was never there before. When I first met this product many years back I was taken aback by how smart one member of the community was yet at the same time how hostile could be (yes, I’m talking about Brad). I did learn to respect his views because it was clear he was a constant contributor, and even he was arrogant and probably an a$$, he did tend to back up any point he would make. My point is, he was the first person that I knew to be banned. It took Xojo years (many) to essentially say that his behavior was just not up to standard. Then all of a sudden, in the span of months (some may say weeks), this year Xojo banned two main contributors of the forum because they spoke up for others. Not because they bullied anyone, not because they were a$$es, not because they promoted some other products. No, both members were removed because they both called out the CEO with facts and the CEO did not like that. And during this same time there has been a clear systematic purging of information Xojo doesn’t deem paints them in good light, constant denials of overreach by the same staff (whether on the forum or on the useless feedback system) even when in some cases they have been caught red-handed (I have to take my hat off to Julian S as he calmly, and respectfully, called out direct instances to many within the Xojo team which were irrefutable).
And Xojo is indeed a really good product. And the CEO owns the company and he can do with it as he wishes, just like I own my money and can do with it as I wish. But if the CEO wants to solicit unbiased input then he can’t pick and choose which input he gets.
So even though I do share Julen’s views the only logical conclusion that can be arrived is that the existence of this forum and the views of many on this forum are a direct reflection on Xojo’s team and their actions within this last year. And for anyone that really thinks it is an unfair characterization I would encourage to formulate this same question on TOF (the Xojo forum) and see how long it takes for that thread to get locked, if it even is allowed to exist at all. That is really the answer.
here here, an extremely well written appraisal of the current situation, with the caveat that this is how as I see it, and not wishing to make it a statement of fact that anyone else should follow.
A point to make with JeffT note in mind, would you be willing to pay extra above the current PRO licence just for the privilege of alpha testing a product that can very easily be dealt with by multiple other products.
I wonder how many readers may have considered that any android offering (if it ever sees the light of day and it ever gets into a releasable state) is …probably… going to be an additional cost on top of the already high cost for the current part baked product.
obviously input from the official Xojo team would be required to answer that, which is unlikely, but perhaps someone with an interest might feel inclined to ask such on TOF.
Currently, I have the pro licence. I don’t know, if/when Android comes, whether a pro licence will cost more.
I’ve never read Brad’s posts, as I stayed on the NUG mailing list until its death and only then forcibly moved to the forum; as such, and having been in the forum for more than one year now, if you say only months (or weeks) elapsed between Brad’s ban and the more recent ones, I’m wondering how it’s possible I didn’t know Brad…
Maybe it didn’t come out right the way I wrote it. Brad was banned years ago after constant verbal abuse to others for years. Two esteemed members of this community were banned this year within weeks of each other for stating specific facts that contradicted the CEO (not verbally abusing anyone, or any other malicious thing). You can draw your own conclusions about the level of tolerance and openness (or lack thereof) being exhibited by the Xojo team.
Brads ban was a long time coming. No one was surprised or wondered why. Norman’s makes no sense whatsoever. First of all he was one of the most helpful users on the forum and while he could occasionally be terse or snarky it was never malicious and paled in comparison to many other commenters who aren’t helpful and just appear to opine to stroke their ego.
