I've read the other somewhat vitriolic thread and felt I should say a few words in defence of Marc's recent actions.Marc has been providing an exemplary service for the flight sim community for many years and has always done so with good grace and great courtesy. It may be many of you who have contributed to the other thread were not aware just how highly he is regarded, for you have come on board relatively recently. I have been an FS addict for quite a long time and nothing that has been said will persuade this simmer to change his opinion of the man.What saddens me is that folk have been rushing to judgement with their criticisms and condemnations like bulls in the proverbial china shop, creating mayhem and confusion without first offering Marc the right of reply. A simple polite e-mail explaining your concerns would, I am sure, have been rewarded with the appropriate response and everyone would be happy.Yes, I agree, Marc could have handled things much better, but does this give us the right to behave in this fashion? I think not. Such intolerant reactions are, unfortunately, becoming all too typical in modern day society and serve only to line the pockets of the legal fraternity who, it has to be said, are encouraging such behaviour. There is often a perfectly acceptable explanation if we just took a little time and trouble to seek it out. Please take a few moments to stop and think about what you are doing. Doubtless you are upset, very upset, for you have come to rely on FSMeteo and deeply resent any perceived attempts on the part of the author to disable a previous version of the product. But, is this not a measure of the value you have placed on his creation? Surely this has to be something worth preserving? Regrettably, such negative and destructive postings only threaten to have the opposite effect and destroy what you have valued so highly.Give the guy a break. At least accord him the same courtesy and understanding he has shown all of his customers since the inception of his excellent creation. Ask him politely and I am sure he will respond in kind.These forums can and do have a profound and powerful influence on the community. They should be used wisely and always with due consideration for the feelings of others. We love this hobby and certainly don't want to lose folk like Marc.Mike :-wave

I won't disagree with anything you've stated very well here. None of this affects me personally, since I stopped using FSMeteo some time ago - nothing against the program, it's just that when it came time to upgrade FSMeteo, I decided to give ActiveSky a try instead.But, there seems to be a great deal of confusion/misconception/misunderstanding about software and licensing and "who owns what and where" today, and I don't know when if ever it will be sorted out. I have no answers myself.I have been a software developer/architect for many years now, and I have seen all manner of licensing scenarios/schemes. With all of the companies for which I've worked, the contracts were in the hundreds of thousands to millions of US dollars. If we at any time had pulled something like what Mr Philibert did (from what I've read), there would have been _SERIOUS_ hell to pay. Does the amount of money the customer pays for software rule or is it principle?Things are confused in our relatively small flightsim hobby. I think in the end we'll have to leave it up to the free market (which is usually best) to decide what licensing and sofware ownership agreements are best. Consumers are just going to have to start taking into consideration those EULA's and be critical of publishers who have disagreeable by not patronizing them. Publishers will have to compete/adapt or lose out. When fighting piracy or squeezing your current user base causes you to lose current and future customers, you start not worry about those things as much. I've long thought that Microsoft's anti-piracy efforts were hilarious, since piracy was a major factor in Windows becoming the dominant OS in the world - the further they tighten their grip, the more people slip out to alternative OS's.just my two old copper pennies...

Thought provoking posts, Mike and Edwin.While I agree in principle with Mike's points (we simply must accord each other more respect while interacting online), I am a bit concerned about a vendor reaching into my system and deleting files. This is wholly wrong.I've been a happy FSMeteo user for a couple of years. Marc's service has been exemplary. But this issue of removing files from customers' computers is very serious. I've not had FSMeteo on my system since mid December, and now I'm a bit reluctant to re-install. I'm currently looking at other options.There seems to me to be a disturbing trend evolving where software vendors believe the customer is buying nothing more than rights-to-use. The problem is that the customers feel differently. They believe they are buying a product. Whether that is technically correct or not isn't an issue... the customers aren't interested in "leasing" or "renting" software.The only thing I lease is one of my automobiles... and then only for tax purposes. Software doesn't fall into the same tax category in my country.

This is the second thread I've seen now concerning this issue...both claim that Marc, the author, is poking into peoples' computers and removing files.....but, IS he? How many of us use firewalls? Surely a firewall would protest the instant an intrusion were detected? I think it's more than likely that the software was originaly supplied when purchased with a 'timebomb' built in....one that would go off and cause the software to be rendered unusable after a particular date...just like those time-limited demo's. Perhaps it goes further and wipes itself and all files created by itself....Naughty, true, but not as bad as if Marc was actualy dipping into folks' PC's and deleting stuff, as many folk seem to think.I'm not an FS Meteo user and would agree that the basic principle of selling software in the knowledge that in a year or so it would be rendered useless, yet not informing the prospective purchaser is damn shady to say the very least, but at least the 'privacy' of those affected is almost certainly NOT being violated....

I really have to say that I no longer care, either way. The other thread was the epitome of how these sorts of discussions should be handled, courtesy of Avsim and Ken. This is simply a futile continuation of an the other thread and is unnecessary. Time - and actions - will tell whether MP is worthy of our support, not endless chattering in forums. I'm sure we all await his frank and public apology with great expectation.Allcott

Hi, I

My feelings exactly Uwe.Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://mysite.verizon.net/res052cd/mybannercva1.jpgCalVirAir International VACougar Mountain Helicopters & Aviation[link:www.cgrmthelos.com]Cougar Mountain Helicopters

Mike,I have been around a while, more than you can realize by my registration date on this forum. So I *do* know about Marc. And he might have done good in the past(I do remember in the 'old days' how great FS Metro was, it was a must have addon for anyone), but he is doing something wholly wrong. And that means he is not deserving of my business. Plain and simple.

Well said Uwe. I couldn't agree more. The silence from Marc is deafening and speaks volumes.Doug

Folks here we go again. I wrote a note on the other thread that Marc is very sorry for problems that anyone has encountered. If you want to get Marc to respond than just write him, he is more than happy to repsond to each of you INDIVDUALLY, not in a public forum. Why is that so many of you want to just throw stones and accuse him of false motives.This is really getting to be a ugly joke, if YOU have a problem then write.Marc like many developers don't post on these forums due to the flames and arrows that some "num nuts" like to sling. Just write him. If you are really interested go to his web site and post to the support page.I am really upset at this continued dumb stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Bob Johnson

Doubtless you are upset, very upset, for you have come to rely on FSMeteo and deeply resent any perceived attempts on the part of the author to disable a previous version of the product.Perceived? Oh, I belive Marc's actions to disable said software goes beyond what is considered to be perceived.Marc has violated not only the terms of his own EULA, but has also gone back on a promise he made to early adopters that all future upgrades would be free.While I understand that the author has the right to "change his mind", he also should have the good business sense, to grandfather those early customers who initially bought in good faith believing on free updates for the "life of the program".Not only did Marc violate that promise, he then placed code in his software that would intentionally cause the software to "expire". Forcing customers to purchase future upgrades against their will.NO software company large or small has been THAT audacious. Marc is lucky to get off with the tongue lashing that he has gotten.If you want to see an example of a "quality" publisher, check out Justin Tyme of FSG. A developer who provides a fair product, for a fair price, has great customer support, and stands by his promises.His offering a new .exe that does not have the "expiration" code is too little too late, and reeks of someone who grugingly is giving something out because he got caught.Congratulations Mr. Philibert, you have sucessfully become almost as well loved and famous as Mr. P***r T****a of Papa Tango fame. What's next for you? Suing all the freeware weather programs because you patented FSMeteo and are claiming supreme copyright on Flight Simulator Weather?The last thing Mr. Philibert needs is are friends to come out and "fight his battles". What he needs is a sense of integrity.

>Folks here we go again. I wrote a note on the other thread>that Marc is very sorry for problems that anyone has>encountered. If you want to get Marc to respond than just>write him, he is more than happy to repsond to each of you>INDIVDUALLY, not in a public forum. Why is that so many of>you want to just throw stones and accuse him of false>motives.As I wrote in the other thread, I did write him an email and got a canned response. When I queried his response I got another canned response. He obviously doesn't want my business that so he wont get it.--qnh

Blah Blah Blah BlahHo hum diddly dumLoad of old codswollopI'm bored with this topic - time to move on.Andy b

Well I also contacted Marc privately and am very satisfied with his explanation and in particular assurance that whatever problems there were with V 5.1 (which Marc very much regrets) they will not be repeated in later versions.Bruce

Thanks Mike,I wholly agree with both the intent and tone of your post. The bashing of Marc by many was in my opinion wholly unnecessary and could have been resolved much more amicably for both parties if a more resoned tone were to have been used.Having been an occasional poster but regular lurker to these fora since even well before AvSim and FlightSim opened their doors I am saddened and disappointed to see the fruitless direction that discussion of anything even remotely conterversial takes.Oh well, back to lurker mode and thanks again Mike for your measured and thoughtful comments. BTW, I will continue to support Marc and FSMeteo as he has always provided an excellent service and product where I am concerned.Chris Porter:-outtaPerthWestern AustraliaMy "Around the World 4" flight pagehttp://members.iinet.net.au/~portercbp/fly...e%20World_4.htm