Detecting End-of-File using READLINE command

[John Esak]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: George Simon [mailto:george at worldest.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 2:40 PM
> To: john at valar.com
> Cc: filePro mailing list
> Subject: RE: Detecting End-of-File using READLINE command
>

George,
I'm afraid I must forward this private post from you to this list. It's
important and I'm sure you won't mind.  I just want/have to clear a few
things up just for "me".

>
> So, I did not do anything different from the message I posted yesterday
> about html quoting and today, except that I specifically told
> Outlook not to
> use Word as the editor.  So it has nothing to do with html or plain text
> because I have always had the setting on Outlook to use plain
> text.   Maybe
> Word changes the plain text default to html, I don't know.

I'm not sure what is causing what. Sounds like you may be right and Word is
causing the problem.

>
> Unfortunately, I must use Word as my editor (company rules), so
> unless I go
> into the defaults and change the settings each time I post to the
> list... I
> guess I won't be doing much posting.

Now, that would be a shame and you know (or at least I hope you know that
this is not what I would want.  You will remember that *I* replied to your
message (and every other message of yours I can help with or respond to...).
I can always just change the html to plain-text and put my response at the
top, so noting it. I don't find this overly annoying... other than that I
can't cut and quote just separate items specifically... it is overall a bad
way to make any response. (That's why most people here don't like the html
coming in.)

[snip]

>
> As far as the vertical line, I do not see it when I reply to a
> message, so I
> don't know how it gets there.

Well, it happens when "replying" to an html message... don't know how to
show you this, perhaps I'll send you a screen shot.. The worst part is that
the vertical line can NOT be broken allowing an insert at any point.

> As far as top posting, I find it much easier to read a message that is top
> posted than to have to scroll all the way down to read what the poster has
> to say.  Especially when it is a long post.

Just for the record... I couldn't agree with you more. I have stated here
that I belong to several other groups that PREFER top posting, and I can
deal with that mail SO much easier. I have come to really LIKE top posting.
However, that is not what *this* group prefers (and the longevity and
usefulness of this group gives it some seniority in my mind and dictates
that I grant it its foibles and preferences. It isn't hard to play by its
rules.)

> Just wondering again here but, if top-posting is such a no-no, why does
> Outlook default to that method?  I find no way of changing that, except to
> scroll all the way to the end of the message.  It's OK on short
> messages but
> when the original message is written by someone like Lujak, that can take
> several minutes, especially if there are responses!

Agreed again, I don't think Outlook is doing anything other than putting
your cursor at the top of the page, though, obviously expecting to start
your reply there. I don't think it is commanding you to put everything at
the top and not cut-intersperse your comments like everyone does.

>
> As a parting note, I've received several private messages on this subject.
> Here is one of them, without revealing the identity of the
> sender, which is
> representative of most of the others:
>
> "George, I've been happy reading your emails all along. I'm sick of the
> whining about HTML. It's  a shame they live in there own tiny world.
>
> filePro as a major data base engine is disappearing out of the
> market place
> faster than "D"  batteries @ Home Depot with a Hurricane coming. Its a
> shame, I am starting to see where they are a dead end street."

Okay, let me reserve my comment to this and make the quoting point again
here. Had I not noticed the "'s at beginning and end of this paragraph, I
would not have known that this person wasn't continuing his comment with the
paragraph coming up next. After a few moments of pulling it all apart, I
realized the quotes and saw that the stuff that comes below here is from you
not from him/her.  So, again, quoting is so damn important so as not to
waste people's valuable time.

Now for my response to this comment. This is a pretty typical blast from the
pretty typical kind of filePro basher. I would normally ignore it, but for
the misuse of the word "there" I feel pretty sure I know who wrote this...
and so I want to give it what it deserves. This level of competency marks
the message content to be treated with that much less credibility. To merely
say a thing (and say it badly, even though you think you are saying it so
cleverly... does not make it so. Facts make a thing so, and I see none here.
As I say typical... This kind of comment has been said over and over again
for the past 25 years. You yourself have seen them over and over again as
have I from even our CompuServe days... As it is purely negative with no
positive suggestion other than to say what a "shame" it all is... the rest I
will say about it is ... let's just ignore it for what it is worth and move
on. If I'm right about who wrote this to you, he has already moved past
filePro and I (and most others) wish he would just move on past this list as
well. We have a right to populate this group with people who want to help
the product and those using it... not with morons who bash it and flame
those using it. My very public (non-cowardly) request... is that he (and all
others like him) who have become disenchanted with filePro just go away...
unsubscribe from this forum and leave the rest of us alone. When we who
remain criticize filePro for one failing or another, at least it will be
with an onward looking developmental goal... and not the "typical" mode of
Mr. D battery, who himself is so quite obviously out of juice regarding the
package.

>
> Now, I don't necessarily agree with the statement the filePro is
> a dead-end
> street.  I love filePro and I think it's a great tool, but is time to move
> to the 21st Century. If you could experience what can be done with other
> databases, such as FileMaker Pro, you could see how far behind the times
> filePro is.
> Sure, filePro can do some things that file Maker Pro can't do or
> it is a lot
> harder to do in FileMaker Pro, but FileMaker Pro can do A LOT more things
> that filePro cannot and will never be able to do.

Here is where you are dead wrong, George.  I have been following the
progress of FileMaker Pro for a very long time... I am well aware of most of
its features and am very up-to-date on what it can do that filePro cannot.
In fact, I think it is an absolutely terrific, superb package. This does
not, however, change one iota the feature set of filepro and what I can do
with it... which is just about everything I need to do. When I need one of
the things another program like fileMaker Pro can do, I'll simply buy it and
use it. No need for nastiness, venom, crude (wrong) remarks about filePro,
etc. Do you notice the difference in this sentiment from the one of your
cowardly agitator above? I don't need to kick dirt on filePro because
Oracle, or FileMaker Pro or any other product can do the things they do. I
don't need to be nasty about it, or disparage filePro... just not the way to
go.

>
> The fact is John, that 90% of the world loves HTML.  People in
> general love
> to attach pictures, use fancy fonts, use emoticons, etc., etc, in their
> emails.  Preferring plain-text to HTML is like preferring black
> and white TV
> to color.  I guess some people do, but I prefer color.
> See you around.

George, please let's be clear. I completely, fully, and whole-heartedly
agree with you. The function of email is greatly enhanced by html, I use it
myself every day and go to great pains to see that my users avail themselves
of all that is possible within email as well. The movies, the audio,
everything. It is all just fantastic and getting better and better. I would
not have it any other way, nor use anything else myself.  Clear?

Does that mean I won't try and accommodate a group that has been around for
so many years (decades...) and helping me all along so much that I barely
could have gotten to this point without it?  No. It is not hard to do and I
find it no problem.  I am greatly distressed that your company forces you to
use the Word program as an editor and it is (appears to be) causing your
problem. I would much rather continue on with our experiments and see if
there isn't some way to keep you around here. Contrary to your
silent-friend's post, I have not been "whining" but very much trying to help
you solve this situation which has obviously been a problem for you for
quite some time. I am very much willing to keep trying. Yes, of course, see
you around.

John Esak

>
>
> George Simon
> American River Logistics, LTD
> 614 Progress St.
> Elizabeth, NJ 07201
>
>
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: John Esak [mailto:john at valar.com]
> > Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 11:29 AM
> > To: George Simon
> > Cc: filePro mailing list
> > Subject: RE: Detecting End-of-File using READLINE command
> >
> >
> > <top-posted>
> > Ahhh! Now, this is much better... nearly perfect in fact... if
> > only you had
> > interspersed your answer, or at worst case put it at the very end of the
> > message thread... it would be perfect. Top posting like I am
> doing now is,
> > of course, as you know a no-no.
> > Good luck, hope you can keep it this way... I, too like editing
> > in Word, but
> > the problems it presents make it a bad choice for *this* list...
> > Thanks,
> > John
>