NYCPHP Meetup

[Timothy Boyden]

Hmmm, from PHP | Architect's website:

Re: php|architect's Author Guide (#110)
By Chad R. Smith on 2006-06-02 08:23:29

Yeah, I can vouch that it's really easy to write for them. Their people are
wonderful and will walk you through each step it takes. Their payments are
on time and good right off the bat. I in fact am trying to think of another
article to write for them!

Talking about accusations!

Do you really think I would of asked for help in the first place, let alone
pay for help, if there was a PHP example on UPS's web site?

The fact that UPS offers an API at all, let alone one that allows an XML
interface that enables interoperability with any programming language that
supports it, pretty much sums up their credibility and intent. Most
companies would require you to use a COM plug-in or ActiveX control to use
their site features so I'm not sure where you are coming from here. A free
registration to use a feature is a far cry from having to pay for the same
thing, something they could easily justify.

Again most people "disagreeing" (happy now) with me are doing so on the
presumed pretext of complaining to pay for help, one which if you read the
full thread and past threads regarding this subject you would know to be not
true. I thank everyone who has ever given me assistance and I return the
favor by helping others with no strings attached whenever I can.

I must say I'm surprised that no open source advocate has chosen to step up
in support of what my main argument is and continues to be, that if you
intend to provide assistance, on an open forum, for an open source
programming language, for the very thing that enables us to do what we do,
then you shouldn't ask someone to pay before assistance is even offered.

We're not talking about commercial support here, we're talking about helping
the little guy and the novice programmer learn about our chosen programming
language and encouraging them to take up the principles of Free (as in
freedom) Software and partake in our community.

I guess we're only for open source when it benefits us...and that's a shame
on all of us.

-Tim




> From: Gary Mort <bz-gmort at beezifies.com>
> Organization: Beezifies Consulting
> Reply-To: NYPHP Talk <talk at lists.nyphp.org>
> Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 17:02:11 -0400
> To: NYPHP Talk <talk at lists.nyphp.org>
> Subject: Re: [nycphp-talk] UPS Shipping Calculator
> 
> Timothy Boyden wrote:
>> It's sad you and others like you choose to focus your attacks on me
>> rather than assist the original poster with their question. I would
>> gladly help except my hands are tied by copyright.
>>   
> I'm not so sure, someone here posted insinuation that the author gets
> royalites for every back article that sells.  I think when you make
> those sort of accusations based on little more than guesswork, you have
> lost the right to complain about being "attacked" when others merely
> correct the statements and point out the alternatives.
> 
> UPS is rather annoying, they require you to create a shipping account in
> order to access their API.  If their true to most companies, I'm willing
> to bet there is a PHP API example there, along with enough ASP examples
> to work out what you need to do(though I have found ProStores to be very
> skimpy on their non-Java examples).
> 
> Checking Virtuemart, I note that there is no GPL UPS module.  Which is a
> general indicator that UPS is persnickety enough to justify paying for
> working models.
> 
> 
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