I had a thought cross my mind last night (it does happen occasionally) that I want to bounce off the list. First let me say that in the short time I have been on this list I have learned a great deal about configuration issues that have plagued me for some time. I wouldn't drop this list no matter what. The thought revolved around the support list for one of my software vendors. As a paid support client I have access to the list(s) which include active participation of the tech support department. Many problems are solved on the list in full view of others so the knowledge of solutions is quickly spread through the user group. The list also becomes a quick way to validate bugs and distribute solutions. In the case of my vendor they typically respond to bugs within hours so it is very effective. We all know that our money is going to further the product and we are participants in the process. I have another software vendor that maintains a mail list but it is not officially monitored by the technical support group. We are supposed to kinda flounder around and figure things out, then if we get really desperate we can call tech support. The problem is that all the solutions are locked up in thier database, not publicly available to the users to minimize future requests for the same information. I haven't yet convinced them that it is to their advantage to make as much information available as possible. It will reduce their tech support load considerably, allowing them to focus on real problems. Then I realized that 3Com has the same issue. I suspect that if 3Com dedicated a tech to a mailing list to address issues for the smaller clients like us, meaning fewer than a thousand TCH systems per pop, it would go a long way to resolving many of the relationship problems we are experiencing. The techs we do have appearing on this list are obviously doing this in between other tasks. I'm sure we appreciate the time they can provide, though I'm sure they have to steer clear of most of the politically charged stuff. Mark Thornton San Marcos Internet, Inc. 512-393-5300 - To unsubscribe to usr-tc, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe usr-tc" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message.