Subject: Re: help! absolute beginner From: Erik Naggum <erik@naggum.no> Date: 1998/12/05 Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp Message-ID: <3121816954816086@naggum.no> * "Zachary Turner" <zturner@elsitech.com> | On another note, does anyone know what the deal is with Franz, Inc.? well, yes, I do. it appears that you walked into a small restaurant with Burger King expectations. in so doing, you might have triggered some strong negative responses based solely in a cultural conflict that you might not even be aware of. phone numbers and e-mail addresses look very much alike, in contrast to storefronts, offices, and counters. you said you know nothing about (Common) Lisp -- one of the things you will experience is that the community is very different from the Windows communities, whence it appears you come. for instance, the Common Lisp market is not marketing-driven, it is not a pyramid game that requires ever new people nor a bug-and-upgrade scam, and it is not leveraging its operational costs across a huge volume of sales. rather, it is a pretty mature market of long-term partnerships with a steady growth. the quick sale is not unlike a one-night-stand in this setting and you _may_ just have appeared much less than serious than you believed you were. | I evaluated Allegro CL 5.0 and I really like it, but these people are | basically sitting here with the "No we don't your money. Go give it to | Harelquin" attitude, which is really frustrating since I want to purchase | Allegro. Has anyone else had better luck with them? yes, I have. the fact that I have happy Common Lisp clients today is probably due mostly to the excellent and welcoming attitude at Franz Inc when I first approached them. they have continued to be very helpful in making my projects succeed, both for me and for my clients. I think what you write is grossly unfair, so I have to reiterate my impression that you have stumbled on a cultural conflict; not all restaurants serve fast food, some cater to a very different audience and their tastes and needs. #:Erik -- The Microsoft Dating Program -- where do you want to crash tonight?