With the upcoming release of SQL 2005, .NET 2.0, and Visual Studio 2005; Microsoft has set-up a forum for community support. I like the idea. I’ve never felt like there was a reliable source for support from the developer community that was (1) open to everyone and (2) regularly monitored by experts.
One of the reasons I was so big on Allaire back in ‘96-’99 was their community support forums. I went there every day to read about what people were doing and answer questions where I could. Allaire got a heck of a lot of free support hours from me, and I in turn, got turned onto a lot of new things, especially in their beta forums. It was a win-win for both sides. I know at least one person who was offered a job at Allaire in large part because of the time he spent in the forums.
Community is important to developers. The quicker you can get people up to speed on your product, the more it will catch on, and the more sales you can make. Microsoft isn’t exactly an upstart like Allaire was in the mid-90s, but I’m glad to see them act like one.
Anybody know of a good community forum for Informatica?