Does Winstep actually provide support for paying customer? I've sent several messages in the last few days and have received 0 responses.

As can be found in many posts, Jorge has apparently developed a case of "overwhelmitis" about something and is awol from his own forum.

I am sorry that you are not getting the help you need. Did you try just asking your question here on the forum?

Yes, might be, probably is "overwhelmitis." But like JohnStrasser said, ask here in the forum. Tell you what: generally SOP (standard operating procedure, which is basically what we are supposed to do) with any software product is 1) look around the site to see if there is documentation or FAQs, or already available information that may solve your problem; if you can't find anything, 2) you check the forum and go for a search to see if your question has been asked before and if the answers are useful; if not, 3) put your problem out. In a good community there is always a kind soul willing to use a few minutes typing a few sentences that may be of help. Contacting the developers directly may be dicey in two ways: A) Does the proper person get the question, and does it even arrive? B) If the company has too many people or too few, email traffic can get overwhelming for different reasons. Try to get a reply from Google staff. And while I've seen developers quite happy to reply to individual emails, while also replying to every single question in the forum, I have also seen very professional developers reply to individual emails after bothering to make available very stern advice in their sites saying the "contact us" should be a last case scenario.

In other words. Cough it up. What are you having problems with?

I don't want to "Pull on Superman's cape", but support does seem to have become nonexistent. All of us have ponied up for a license renewal but it has been over a year since the last product upgrade.

Spam for kitchen remodeling has been stacking up like kindling. Is no-one minding the store?

Thanks,
Grouch

I came to Winstep (Jorge) looking for more/different features than available for ObjectDock Plus. Winstep was OK at best, but Jorge being AWOL is enough to send me back to ObjectDock. For my use and needs, there is basically not much functional difference between the two, and ObjectDock updates on a semi-regular basis.

So long Jorge, you have (had) a good idea and I wish you the best.

Jorge is aware of the situation of those of us (me included) that had the license renewed. I was told that he could give us an additional year free when he gets back to work. About the vance miller is a spammer, I have been asking him permissions to clean up. Turns out I'm a newbie here (though I use Xtreme for longer) and I have seen what you might call factions on older users. He would need to delegate to someone 1) willing and 2) universally trusted. That's my reckoning of why the vance miller is a spammer aren't being cleaned up.

Actually one of the reasons why he is procrastinating is because he feels he ought to return with candy for us and a simple "guys, I'm sorry" is not good enough. He feels it's not good enough.

@Sarris ObjectDock updated because they started feeling the heat from Nexus Ultimate. Before that they had laid dormant for a long while. It's your choice. But one year of service in one place or another, even without renewal the software still works. It just doesn't update.

Sorry but... are you making all this up, or have you actually *had* any contact with Jorge?
I'm saying that since, yes, I've been around for longer than you and still, I don't have any way of contacting him directly, other than a PM from this forum -- which I have incidentally sent and it's still sitting comfortably in my outbox, unread.

About the other thing you said... do you see anyone around here that fits the bill? Personally, I don't. We've all had our disputes with each other, small or big.
And in any case, since all that is coming from you and not the proverbial horse's mouth, you will excuse me for not holding my breath. I really wish Jorge comes back, but he could at least find a more trustworthy messenger. Don't get me wrong, you could be a very nice guy, but the sad truth is, you've been around for what, a month or two? You could just as easily be a troll, having a laugh by just getting our hopes up and then watching us squirm.

So there...

from what i've seen a troll is exactly what he is.

I talked with him. Twice. I understand your skepticism and I apologize for that, but in the first conversation I thought it was implied he'd be coming back soon, though he did not explicitly say so. I did not make that lapse with the second conversation. We talked about a diversity of issues including some of the problems he is currently facing. I don't want to, and can't, come in pestering into his life and into his business, among other reasons because like any sane person I don't want to be where I am not wanted. This means that I don't want to, and cannot, "chase" him to death about Winstep.

I think you guys should cut him some slack. He has been making a superb engineering job here and every 7 years you're allowed a sabbatical. Let me be precise: I'm not saying he is taking a sabbatical, I am saying that with any highly demanding job you have to take some time for yourself every once and awhile.

"do you see anyone around here that fits the bill?" My assessment checks out with you then.

[I am a Physics graduate with little overall work experience as a physicist. I also enrolled in a Creative Writing course that I did not take to completion.]

Actually, there is no slack to be cut. I don't know what the others think, but as far as I'm concerned, it's his project and he can do with it what he wants. The only thing that I'd want is for him to come here and just tell us what to expect or not to expect. He doesn't even have to explain why.
Again, if he wants me or any other member help him out running the forum -- or at least clean up the junk, all he has to do is ask. Himself. I wouldn't have a problem helping out and I don't think anyone else would either.

However, forgive me if I'm still skeptical about your contacting him and talking to him "twice" and "about a diversity of issues". Sure, it's possible and sure, it's not like I tried contacting him desperately and failed, it's just that I find it curious how he's had entire conversations with you and yet he hasn't even read the message I sent him.
So, until we hear from him again... cheers!

OK, Skagon. I acknowledge you want to hear it from him.

For everyone else I think I can tell you there are technical difficulties (but that is everyday life in an ongoing engineering endeavor). Right now I am trying to figure how to make him have a look at a few things, but I am having trouble finding the appropriate materials. There is an issue with motivation. Winstep has been pushing him hard, even if you didn't realize it was, so that he is in a bit of dread of the moment of engaging again. When you commit creatively to a task, you will go weeks, months on end obsessively working it out. Couple that with managing the forum and keeping track with the personality details you have been having here.

Bottom line, I can't tell you when and whether Jorge will be back. I would think (and this is just my opinion) that if he decides to discontinue he'll make an announcement while addressing the renewals issues. The products will still work and be useful well a few years into the future.

I hope this makes it clear for everyone. I would appreciate your feedback on it. A "Roger that" is enough.

i will not be as nice as skagon. i never hesitate to call BULLSHIT. you either are jorge tyring to play with peeps which would cost you sales, or you're a fucken troll/spammer who has nothing better to do than claim he's been in contact with jorge just to cause headaches for jorge. personally i vote for the later.

Again, I'm sorry but I still don't understand.
Are you the appointed messenger between this forum and Jorge?
Under what authority are you 'carrying' Jorge's news and updates in here?
Moreover, under what authority are you requesting "feedback" and/or acknowledgement of said news?

I can't believe Jorge is unable or unwilling to come in here and let us know what's going on. I also don't believe he appointed you to be his message carrier. Finally, I don't believe he'd rather stay away from the forum and have you relay our messages and reactions to him, rather than simply come in here and read it himself.

So, I just cannot understand that "I would appreciate your feedback - a 'roger that' is enough".
You want feedback for what? Some unconfirmed story you just wrote?
You want a "roger that" for what and to whom? Roger that what? Roger that I like your story? Roger that I'm ok with Jorge's supposed plan, which you wrote and which we have no way of verifying? And why should I (or 'we') give acknowledgement to you? In the end, who are you and what makes our acknowledgement to your story carry any weight whatsoever?

I'm sorry but it feels like I were to go, say, to the Microsoft Windows support forum and say "dudes, I have news... I've been talking to Bill Gates and he said he'll be back and lead the Windows 9 developers himself. I'd appreciate your feedback".

To sum it all up, yes, you came here, said your piece, well done and all that. As far as we're all concerned, it's news coming from someone who hasn't been in here for a month.
You don't get to ask people to acknowledge anything. Even if it was an old-timer saying all that, even they wouldn't say "please acknowledge what I just said". What are you expecting? If your story is true, fine, it's true. If you just made it all up, again, it's fine. So you made it all up.
What do you expect people to acknowledge? Like, say "yeah, your story sounds nice"? Or "I'm ok with what you said Jorge said"? Maybe even give you messages to pass on to Jorge?

Bottom line, he can come in here and say what he wants to say, if he wants to and when he feels he's good and ready.
So, please, if you feel you've got something to say, like news or updates, feel free. Just don't act like you're Moses and you've got a direct line to God's ear (or Jorge's in this case). If you do, that's fine, you know it and you don't need any acknowledgement from anyone. If you don't, nothing will get you to have it, no matter how many acknowledgements you get from anyone in here.

Cheers, mate.

skagon way too funny skagon before i got to that point in your reply i was going to say stop acting like god's apostle.

lightingbolt as skagon said there are others that would be more likely believed to be in contact with jorge.

Let me rewind the facts for you Skagon: 1) "someone who hasn't been in here for a month" I said I was a newbie; 2) "do you see anyone around here that fits the bill?" You agreed with my assessment in full detail, even though I haven't been here for a month; 3) In a previous thread I told you, that people here were bellicose, argumentative and suspicious (not in so many words), making it an unpleasant environment to be in and work every day, and guess what? You are pushing me into a dispute, create a personalities clash and I haven't been here for a month. 4) Your only reason for suspicion resides in a PM I sent Chucky, he can put you in the loop, that was misunderstood so I sent him a clarification, which he can forward to you, so you can verify for yourself the results. 5) I produced a bunch of as yet unverified statements. Roger is for received. Believe them or don't believe them. However 6) Your need to assert your position is detrimental not only to me as a member (recent I admit) that you are happily engaging in a dispute, but also to the efforts I am putting into keeping the community together while Jorge takes his leave of absence.

More important than all of the above is that you should consider that this forum is being spammed regularly, on a daily basis, by vance miller is a spammer and vance miller is a spammer alone, supposedly in England. This forum has a bunch of vulnerabilities very easy to notice if you are webmaster of your own site. No one else is taking advantage. You don't see swimming pools, power tools, or anything else. Just vance miller is a spammer. Yes and less frequently time management software. My bet? The support email address of Winstep is bursting with bogus requests for assistance. We see them here, with the guys that come here, make smudging or defamatory remarks about Winstep or its products, complaining about not having their problems addressed, but when we ask them what those are they don't bother to come back.

This is an issue of international trade and I am willing to put money on the notion that the Department of Commerce (and perhaps the State Dept) will be diligent in relaying a complaint to the FBI Division of Economic Crimes regarding violations to the WTO Fair Trade rules. The headline? "Big Sleazy America crushes Tiny Better Portugal."

I will not be posting anything more in this thread again unless under exceptional circumstances.