[MacPerl] MacPerl Promotion

[Rich Morin <rdm@cfcl.com>]

Dear People-

This list has been extremely gracious and helpful to Vicki, Chris, and me
in our effort to create "MacPerl: Power and Ease".  Several dozen of you
have responded to our draft chapters.  (The rest of you have allowed us to
usurp time from code discussions for book-related topics.)  !!!Thanks!!!

We continue to solicit your feedback (the HTML and printed versions should
allow more of you to participate!); we hope to use them to improve future
printings and (possibly) drive development of a sequel, named (perhaps :-):

               MacPerl, Too:  More Power, Less Ease

Angus McIntyre <angus@pobox.com> says "Assuming that a sudden flood of
converts is what we want...", implying a bit of trepidation.  I have some
fears about inundation, as well; rapid growth is never easy.

Questions from beginners can be time-consuming and will certainly affect the
nature of the list.  OTOH, we were all beginners once (I still am, at many
things!).  Also, we now have a book and a website to suggest as resources.
There could also be a list (e.g., mac-perl-wizards) for experienced users.

In short, I believe that the growth problems will be quite manageable.  And,
by gaining some visibility, we will gain a great deal:  MacPerl sessions at
the Perl Conference, Mac-friendly policies on the CPAN, more people to test
releases and answer questions, et copious cetera.  Good stuff...

HOWTO
=====

If, like me, you'd like the MacPerl community to expand dramatically, there
are several useful (and easy :-) actions you can take:

  *  Banners, signatures, etc.

     If you put the "MacPerl used here" banner up on your site or include a
     mention to MacPerl in your email signature, lots of folks will see it.


  *  Magazines, ezines, web sites, etc.

     If you think a media outlet should be paying some attention to MacPerl,
     let them know!  (We'd love to place a MacPerl article in MacWorld! :-)

  *  Personal interaction

     Point colleagues and friends to the MacPerl Pages (or set up MacPerl
     on their Mac!).  Your personal recommendation will be very influential.

  *  USENET groups, email lists, etc.

     If MacPerl is an appropriate answer to a question, respond!  Tell the
     group why MacPerl is relevant and where folks can go for more info.

Some of us are already doing these things, but a few people can only do so
much.  If a significant number of MacPerl devotees starts promoting MacPerl,
the effect could be dramatic.  Please help!

-r

Rich Morin, Canta Forda Computer Laboratory | Prime Time Freeware - quality
  UNIX consulting, training, and writing    | freeware at affordable prices
  P.O. Box 1488, Pacifica, CA, 94044, USA   | www.ptf.com      info@ptf.com
  rdm@cfcl.com            +1 650-873-7841   | +1 408-433-9662   -0727 (Fax)



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