Inconsistencies in Repository technologies

[Paolo F Cantoni]

Perhaps he'll let us know...

Paolo

[son-of-sargasso]

Well, I for one will raise a glass for all the help that Neil has provided over the years.  I ... no I'm not going to get into a class war argument about developers and support... but

Neil, cheers!
bruce

[Geert Bellekens]

bruce,

Maybe, just maybe, it time to stop raising glasses and get going with that hangover  

Geert

[KP]

thou shalt not minimize valid criticisms of a software product by focusing on an easily swatted (and therefore easily dismissed) bug when it is only one of a swarm of bugs, not all of which are so easily swatted.

OK, point taken. However, the easy bugs still need swatting.

Neil is "just" in the support team (brave guy!) not one of the developer gods.

Half correct. I used to answer a lot of support e-mails but I've always been a developer, although not one of the "developer gods". I mostly fix those easily swatted bugs

And anyway, there's no "just" about being in the support team: they do a difficult and important job and I know the developers value and appreciate their efforts...

[RoyC]

Yes, you can't really make a deductions about who is or does what in here, because some of my colleagues are quite brilliant in a number of capacities. At least three of the most frequent and helpful Sparx correspondents are developers, and a fourth is a support team member.

However, the important point to remember is that an official bug report or feature request (sent via the links at the bottom of the table) goes to the Sparx Support team and is in one way or another officially processed. A bug or feature suggestion posted on the user forum is for users to discuss and comment on, and there is no guarantee that a Sparx person will read, comment on or act on the information. In fact we are most likely not going to act on forum postings, because changes and corrections need to go through the proper process rather than being tucked in ad hoc and without proper authorisation and validation.

I'm trying to replace the sticky notes on the Bugs and Suggestions categories to make these points more apparent. Bear with me while I work on that.

[fwoolz]

Roy, Neil, et. al.,

First off, cheers to the long-suffering Sparxians who put up with us. And a belated Happy Australia Day as well!

Second, there are issues that come up that don't neatly fit into the category of bug or suggestion - sometimes they're simply requests for information, most of which can be handled by the user community (although I must say Sparx has frequently been in the thick of things in discussions, for which we users are all no doubt grateful), but sometimes there are questions only the gods on Mount Ballarat can answer (sorry, it's more alliterative than Creswick). Is there a more effective way to pose these questions other than here or by bombarding Sparx with bug reports?

Cheers,
Fred Woolsey

[RoyC]

In the near vicinity of Creswick we have Mt Beckworth and Mt Cole, and the Bald Hills and Sulky Hill. The god-like Sparxians of Creswick could recline throughout these elevations, according to individual stature or disposition.

From the majestic Bald Hills, then, I suggest that you could possibly send a direct email to sparx support, or to sparx sales or sparx marketing ([email protected]. [email protected], [email protected]), depending on what the question is. That way you are asking a direct question of a specific entity, rather than floating it out on the aether of the forum. But the question would have to be distinct from a feature request or a bug report, and something - as you say - that only a Sparxian could answer.

[KP]

Second, there are issues that come up that don't neatly fit into the category of bug or suggestion - sometimes they're simply requests for information, most of which can be handled by the user community (although I must say Sparx has frequently been in the thick of things in discussions, for which we users are all no doubt grateful), but sometimes there are questions only the gods on Mount Ballarat can answer (sorry, it's more alliterative than Creswick). Is there a more effective way to pose these questions other than here or by bombarding Sparx with bug reports?

Near the link for Registered Bug Reports there should be a link for Registered Support Requests... use that one. More often than not the Support Team will know the answer or be able to work it out, but if not they can ask the developers.

EDIT: Simulposted! I'm off up Sulky Hill

[fwoolz]

Thanks, guys. Remember us as you quaff Ambrosia, eh?  

Fred

[Eve]

I just spent a week by the loftier heights of Mt Feathertop and Mt Bogong. Unfortunately I couldn't fit any Ambrosia into my pack for the trip.  

[son-of-sargasso]

I just spent a week by the loftier heights of Mt Feathertop and Mt Bogong.

Crikey, Simon, you must really be a masochist. Heat and flies. So now your back at Sparx for some relaxation eh?

btw, is the MUMC pimple still there?

[mrf]

At least three of the most frequent and helpful Sparx correspondents are developers, and a fourth is a support team member.

Aaaargh! They know our secret identities now!  :-/ Time to return to my low profile day job as an insurance salesman until this blows over...

[RoyC]

... and a fifth truly excellently helpful person is an insurance salesman ... huh?

I am reliably informed that our local mountain chains also include Mt Rowan, Hangback Mountain, Springmount and Mt Blowhard. That's a relief, because things were getting a little crowded on the original set. However, Mt Blowhard is conspicuously godless.

[Paolo F Cantoni]

By technologies, I ALSO Mean the API!

If you hide a line using the GUI EA writes a "1" in t_diagramlinks.Hidden!  If you use the Automation interface, EA writes "-1"

I do hope all this stuff will be fixed up for v8!

Paolo

This one wasn't...

So I've reported it as a separate bug: t_diagramlinks.Hidden Inconsistency

Paolo