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Title: Message
Now
you know better. :-)
XML-Dev is a fussy list. It inherited most of the
momentum of the original
XML
SIG/WG. There are people here who like yourself, are learning XML
and
there are people here who actually know how to use an SGML Declaration
file. IOW, this list is unique precisely because
of the broadness and diversity.
On the
other hand, this is a technical list, per se, and most blurbs that market
companies, their agendas, etc., won't be
well-received. Don't take it too
seriously. Keep in mind this list holds an annual
haiku contest too. So,
it
isn't all bits and bytes here, but be sure that there is no other list where
the
technical *passions* for XML and markup run as high. XML-Dev is as
was
said of Byron: mad, bad, and dangerous to know.
Is
there an anti-Microsoft crowd here? Yes. But consider
that is true of a lot
of web
lists and a big part of the IT industry. MS is the hands down
winner
of the
desktop operating system sweepstakes. Sitting in the big chair always
requires them to take punches. It's called
success. Some of the folks
here
are core tool builders. One might say that most of the XML-Dev crew
lives
to parse and profit. Competition breeds a bit of antipathy.
And in
the
last decade, MS made enemies with sharp elbowed, hardball business
practices. You can't count on justice, but
karma is reliable.
Are
there MS supporters here who welcome new information that widens
their
knowledge of MS developments in XML? Yes. Some are
enthusiastic
about
the company, while others, like myself, are MSThralls. That doesn't
mean
"enthralled". It is a reference to an old Star Trek episode where an
underground race of disincarnate brains kidnapped other
races to fight
in
games while the jarbrains bet quatloos. In other words, we didn't
sign
up to
be supporters, but have jobs where our companies have chosen
our
toolsets for us, and like good Thralls, we get in the ring everyday
and
try to use them to win. While I don't care too much about what
Balmer
believes, I found the .NET tutorials you posted extremely useful.
Things
like that are best noted with a URL, a title that says what it is
and
minimum to no cheerleading.
Hang
in here and read. There are a couple of perennial threads and
posters that you will learn to recognize as having put
a stake in the
ground
on their technical positions. I learn a lot from these folks.
len
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