The problem is not that there might be a bug in powerbasic's compiler,
its that Mr Zale is so sensitive to any suggestion of that possability
he over reacts and ban's well meaning users.

I don't think there is any doubt that a small bug can be found and
fixed, that s after all your business, but this relentless paranoia
regarding user's personal information is completely counterproductive.

Since Mr Zale had me banned from Jose Rocas forum within days of
banning me from the powerbasic forum (unless of course it's a giant
coincidence that is yet another figment of my imagination ) I will
respond to the current thread
http://www.jose.it-berater.org/smfforum/index.php?PHPSESSID=70465e4677ead6b6c795beb262ca598f&topic=3240.0
here:

- Patrice Terrier
Almost certainly. Read the sad story of Frank Cox to verify that:

"I originally purchased the Powerbasic compiler when it was called
Turbo Basic
1.0 around 1987 when it was first released. I bought my first copy of
Turbo
Basic from our local Radio Shack store and sent in the registration
card for
it. From then up until about 1995, every time a new version of Turbo
Basic (and
now Powerbasic) was released, I got a notice in the mail offering me
an update
to the new version at a reduced price. I have purchased every upgrade
of the
DOS version of the Powerbasic compiler from the company since the
initial 1.0
release of Turbo Basic. Therefore, I suspect that I am one of the
oldest,
longest-term customers that Powerbasic has (or had).

Powerbasic for the Linux operating system has been promised ever since
March
25,1999, when an employee of Powerbasic named Dave Navarro posted a
message in
the Powerbasic forum stating that Powerbasic for Linux would be
released "some
time this year".

For several years, the Powerbasic website had a section which stated
"Linux is
coming soon".

(I have attached screenshots to this message showing these
statements.)

On January 29, 2008, someone on the Powerbasic forum asked when
Powerbasic for
Linux would be released. I replied to his question by stating
something to the
effect that "Powerbasic for Linux has been 'coming real soon now' for
over ten
years, but unfortunately it hasn't ever been released." I also said
how
disappointed I was that it hadn't actually appeared because I was
planning to
be the first customer buying it when it did show up.

Bob Zale immediately challenged me on the forum asking me to prove
that
Powerbasic for Linux had been promised for over ten years. When I
posted the
proof that he asked for, he called me a liar, deleted the proof that I
had
posted, and banned me from the forum. In fact, he banned my IP
address from his
website completely, so I couldn't even read anything on that website
from my
usual Internet account. Most unfortunately, he deleted enough of the
thread on
the forum that he left me looking like I had lied, which was both
incorrect and
unfair as he was maligning my reputation.

I thought this was unreasonable treatment (and still do), so I took
the
discussion to a forum where Bob Zale can't control, edit or delete
anything
that other people post, that being the Usenet
comp.lang.basic.powerbasic
newsgroup. While not nearly as active as the Powerbasic web forum,
some people
who are interested in Powerbasic do follow that newsgroup.

When I posted a description of my treatment and the current situation,
someone
who signed himself "Tim Robbins/Powerbasic Inc." posted this:


QUOTE:
You really should tell the truth, not to mention the "whole truth".

1- You were not "banned" from the PowerBASIC Forums.

2- No action was taken because of a "response" we didn't like.

3- You were temporarily blocked from posting because you attempted to
"flood" our forums with nasty messages at a very high rate. You then
began to flood our emails, too. When folks get out of control, we
have to deal with it.
END OF QUOTE


This was a complete fabrication on his part.

1. I was banned from the Powerbasic forums, in fact I was banned from
the
entire website.
2. I was banned because I dared to post proof of the fact that
Powerbasic for
Linux was promised since 1998.
3. The accusation of "flooding" is wholly invented by Powerbasic. It
didn't
happen.


You won't be able to read the thread on the Powerbasic forum that got
me banned
because Bob Zale deleted it. You can read the exchange that we had on
the
Usenet newsgroup, though. The whole thing is archived and available
here:

http://groups.google.ca/group/comp.lang.basic.powerbasic/browse_thread/thread/448bfaa8fcb30d00/4e05a8b5dab7c36d
or
http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Comp/comp.lang.basic.powerbasic/2008-02/msg00009.html

In conclusion, I am a long-term customer of Powerbasic, since before
it was
Powerbasic Inc. (It was originally a product of Borland
International, then
it was sold by Spectra Publishing, then it was sold by Powerbasic
Inc., and I
have made regular purchases from all of these companies over the
years.)

I was banned from the Powerbasic web forum for making a statement that
Bob Zale
didn't like, and then proving it when he asked me to do so.

The Powerbasic for DOS compiler that I have purchased and used is a
very nice
product. Bob Zale and Powerbasic Inc, on the other hand, treat their
customers
capriciously and unreasonably.

Though I still use the Powerbasic for DOS compiler that I bought from
them years ago, after they treated me the way that they did last year,
I have
absolutely no interest or intention of dealing with them or making any
further
purchases from them in the future. I strongly recommend that anyone
who plans
to build any kind of a business around computer programming should
stay far
away from Powerbasic Inc. They have demonstrated that they will not
hesitate
to ban you for any reason or none at all. A compiler is a product
where
interaction with other people who use it is a very important part of
the product
itself; it becomes much less useful if you can't discuss problems,
issues and
techniques with other programmers who use the same compiler that you
do.

Bob Zale and Powerbasic Inc are not a company or individual that I
care to deal
with. In my opinion, Powerbasic Inc is not operated in an ethical
manner.

Frank Cox"
(Address and phone number withheld to protect his privacy)



- Wayne Diamond
Exactly. How can Mr Zale make a legitimatly insist that peple register
with their FULL REAL name when he ALLOWS even one person to use a
nick? I was also granted permission to use my nick by him, on the
phone, in person in 2005. It is farcical to use this as the
cornerstone of powerbasic's user policy and now ban these SAME USERS
with this "policy"


- Edwin Knoppert
Precisly
Yes, and they come off as being childish and perhaps not take as
seriously, but that is their right and privildge.


- Wayne Diamond
Un-fortunatly, as I am sure you will find out, Jose's boss is Mr Zale.
You WILL be banned as I was. (more later)


- Bob Houle
Exactly!



- Patrice Terrier
I have a VERY special reason... my privacy, not to mention the very
obvious detrimental affect on my INCOME from clients searching my name
and getting access to my work and compilable code!


- Wayne Diamond
GREAT QUESTION!
I suggested a solution to this in 2007
http://www.jose.it-berater.org/smfforum/index.php?topic=1273.0
Charging $1 to register would solve this problem. Who would not pay $1
to download all the material on Jose's site?
This was of course ignored. Why? Because the real reason behind
requiring FULL REAL names to register has nothing whatever to do with
your FULL REAL name. (More later)



- Chris Boss
That is your opinion. I belong to many forums where this is not the
case. Most forums on the internet do not require your FULL REAL name.
A nick is defined by what you post in the same way that your FULL REAL
NAME is. There is no difference. Your personality in REAL life cuts no
ice in an internet forum as we have all found out. Your are judged by
your posts.
Yes.... and that is the whole point. It's called free speach, that was
the first amendment to the constution for a very good reason. The
problem is Mr Zale is seeking to limit our first amendment rights by
using the underhanded methods of thread deletion and banning while
screaming about his "private property" as loud as he can.
Since many people register to use the powerbasic forums without buying
anything, there is no way to tell if these people have made up a FULL
REAL name. That negates this whole argument (aside from the fact that
Mr Zale actually ALLOWS people to use nick's as Wayne and I testify to
here)
Obtaining pirated PB products is a simple matter unfortunatly. I
battle software pirates as much as anyone that has released a
shareware product. Piracy is wrong. I would work to support any
software vendor, including powerbasic from having their products
priated. However, it is a fact of life that we all have to live with.

If the intention is to curtail support to these individuals then this
is NOT the way to do it. As I suggested in 2007, this can easily be
done by requiring users to register with a credit card paying a
nominal fee of $1. Who can argue that support of any kind isn't worth
$1? Then the vendor knows who the users are and can determine if they
have bought product. Simple. This immediatly negates the requirement
for a FULL REAL name, yet it is not implemented. Why?
Well I would argue that everyone is entitled to their privacy, but
lets even leave that aside. The problem is, who is the arbitor of this
"once ina while"? You, Mr Zale? some $8/hr powerbasic employee? As
soon as you put that decision in someone else's hands, you have
defeated everyone's right to privacy.
What on earth does that mean? People who value their privacy (and are
not so reckless as to post their FULL REAL name) are subject to being
harrassed by tinpot internet bussinesses? Come on, that doesn't even
pass the sniff test...
Well the problem with this logic is that Mr Zale can't have it both
ways. A policy is a policy. If you state it as such, you can't
undermine it by letting people use nicks. It is utterly ludicrous to
allow someone to use an alias for NINE YEARS and then cite this as the
reason for banning him. It is perfectly obvious to anyone, that Mr
Zale is just having a little hissy fit and "stopming his feet" (to
borrow his favorite expression).
Well this is exactly what I did with Jose Roca's forum. Then the
policy changed (a long while after I had joined) and contributed. Jose
knew who I was and allowed me to post, at least until Mr Zale banned
me and sent my PERSONAL INFORMATION gained at time of sale to him, a
totally illegal act, violating every privacy statute not to mention
powerbasic's own privacy policy.
That is not the case for me or Wayne.
This argument is flawed on its face since internet nicks obviously
provide identity privacy.
You obviously genuinly care about your customers. What does it say
about powerbasic that they are not willing to do the same?
Yes, and yahoo and google and.... this is why we have CAPTCHA. Another
bogus argument.
If you are suggesting that wierd names can be offensive, I agree. It
is not unreasonable for a froum admin to REQUEST that someone find
something a little more personal or appropriate if needed, but people
should be allowed to use nicks if they wish.
Yes but IN FACT you don't. The only way to verify if a name is real,
is by getting a payment with a credit card or like.


- Charles Pegge
Absolutly right.



- Theo Gottwald
It is perfectly obvious that you have no net worth. If you did you
would be a little more concerned about your personal privacy. One day,
perhaps after you have had your identity stolen, or got one too many
spam emails and deleted an important sales lead by mistake, or been
interupted at a deal signing by some telemarketer, you will realize
the importance of this fundamental issue.
PAY ATTENTION THEO. He has thought this through VERY CAREFULLY as have
I. We are not going to compromise our privacy to gratify Mr Zales ego.
It is not going to happen OK.

The sub text of this comment is that you wish Wayne to reamin a part
of the community and compromise his values. Some of us have integrity.
We don't roll over and play dead at the first sign of trouble and
certainly do not let bandits hijack our security to satisfy their
vanity. You would do well to "re-think" your position.


- Carlo Pagani
Carlo, in the US, it is all too easy. I had my identy stolen when I
went to a Chevy dealer to test drive a Corvette! You have no idea how
much trouble that caused. I wasted six months and lost a very sweet
deal because of it.


- Frederick J. Harris
Woouldn't it be nice if those values persisted today. Unfortunatly the
reality of the world we live in is very different! Sneak theives will
steal from you without you even knowing. The first incling I had that
my identity had been stolen was when I got a telegram from a Credit
Card company informing me that I needed to make a payment on a $20k
balance.
It is ridiculous. But this is the reality of the situation both he, I,
and good people like Frank Cox (read above) find ourselves in.
You are not listening. Privacy is not something we are willing to
compromise for Mr Zale, and rightly so. This is something you should
be adressing with powerbasic in the strongest possible terms. This is
a fundamental issue.


- Theo Gottwald
You've read it here.
So why arn't you fighting? You role over like a lap dog when Zale
rattles your inbox. Try standing up for what's right for once.


- Laurence Jackson
and that's your right and priviledge
Exactly
Exactly
No, it doesn't
Well that appears to be the concensus of every PB developer, and this
is precisly what enables Mr Zale to do what he does and get away with
it. He is counting on you to make that evaluation and if you are a
seasoned developer, then you can probably function without the forums.

The only remaiing problem then, is the rising body count. At what
point do you say enough? We have lost some of the greatest most
brilliant developers in the world to Mr Zale's ego. I remember reading
one of Semen's posts for a week trying to understand how brilliant it
was. I have NEVER done that with any of Mr Zale's posts. Every time I
read his responses I want to go take a shower.

At what point is the destruction to the community and expulsion of
members going to be too much for even the party faithful to tolerate?
By the time Patrice has been banned and Jose has had a stomach full,
whats left won't be worth being a part of anyway. It is astounding how
much everyone is willing to tolerate.


- Bob Zale
That's what you told the BBB and Florida Dept of Consumer Service
about my status. That's a factual inaccuracy, or to use your turn of
phrase: "you're a liar!"
Why do you even bother to say these things? You even contradict
yourself in your replies. It's pathetic to watch you make these
worthless statements of innocence while you rush around behind the
scenes wrecking mayhem and havoc at every turn.
Would'nt it be eaiser to take an anger management class or 5000, and
just play nice?

- Laurence Jackson
A great example of how public pressure actually works!


- Bob Zale
Ah, so despite your claim that:
"The vast majority highly approve of the policy"
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.lang.powerbasic/browse_thread/thread/6e4ac9f0614d38bf#
It seems there is yet another exampe of someone that does not want to
use their FULL REAL name as demanded.
Perhaps the vast majority actually value their privacy, as argued
here?


- Bob Zale
Yes it only takes a second for you to ruin a lifetime of carefull
identity protection. No thanks

In an email after banning me in Feb 2008 you said:
"Thank for getting back to me. We have thousands of forum members and
all of them follow the rules, except you. It would not be fair to
allow you to break the rules, which everyone else follows. I have
discussed this with Mr. Zale and he concurrs. Please let me know which
of the two choices, you prefer.
1) change you handle to you real name
2) we will change your your handle for
you.
You have until 4pm Eastern Standard Time to change your handle or we
will do it for you."

In the light of what we now know about Wayne, the statement "all of
them follow the rules" is obviously yet another bare faced lie. At
this time Mr Zale had clearly given him permission to use a nick.




- José Roca
Yes, but NONE of them post on the PB forum any longer... why is that
do you think?
And that is a surprise after being banned without any warning, and
given no reason whatsoever?
You have been around PB since about 2001 I think. Imgaine for a moment
that all that great work you did was instantly removed because you
offended Mr Zale? You are a brilliant developer and always polite and
helpful, but I think even you would be upset.

I have been in this community since 1999. Ten years. Mr Zale has
abruptly ended my ability to participate in the community forums for
reasons tht still remain unknown. He cites the "lies" in my posts
SINCE this event, as the reason, but even when challenged to identify
a single lie, fails to do so. This is just plain wrong and you know
it.

Add to that to childish refusal to sell more product, and you have a
textbook example of a support Nazi. People need to know about this,
and if I can affect change by bringing public awareness to this, I
will. Mr Zale needs to hear loud and clear that this behaviour will
not be tolerated by users. Each one of these scandals costs him
credibility and sales. If he persists, he is going to be putting
powerbasic up for sale again.

Your ability puts you in the top few developers in the world. Most of
us in the community are not. We rely heavily on the forums to learn
and exchange ideas.

My goal is to warn anyone new to development and looking for a
language, that there are some nasty minefields when you choose
powerbasic. Unless and until Mr Zale relents, this is going to cost
him dearly... and rightly so. I would NEVER have chosen powerbasic had
I known how totally un-professional he was.

You and I had a great relationship until Feb 2008 when I received this
email:
02/01/2008 10:10
Hi Mike,
I have been told that “Mike Trader” is a false identity for Michael
xxxxx, of xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx.

Please change the display name in your account settings if you want to
continue to post. No need to re-register (I don’t care if you use Mike
Trader for login), just change the “Name” setting.

Click “Profile” in the top menu, and then “Account Related Settings”
in the “Modify Profile” menu.

Regards,
José Roca

This email identified my FULL REAL name and other personal information
that could only have come from Mr Zale. If the timing itself wasn't
enough, this email was proof posative that you had been coerced into
banning me by Mr Zale.

Over the years I have sent you a lot of money and contributed popular
code to your forum
http://www.jose.it-berater.org/smfforum/index.php?topic=1383.0

We worked through a complex Bluetooth problem together
http://www.jose.it-berater.org/smfforum/index.php?topic=1373.0;wap2

and some QUAD issues with SQLite
http://www.jose.it-berater.org/smfforum/index.php?topic=1473.0

Our relationship was destroyed in a single instant by Mr Zale, and you
let him do it. I submit that following Zale's policy, and banning me
on his say-so, despite all our interactions over years (in which you
knew full well my name was a nick) is WRONG, and despite your
brilliance, undermines your credibility (as testified by the sparse
postings on your site). People do not respect a brilliant "nice"
"good" guy that will not stand up and do the right thing. As my father
used to tell me, when you lie with dogs, you get fleas.
As Wayne points out, you still don't know if Tom Smith is a real name.
As I posted in 2007
http://www.jose.it-berater.org/smfforum/index.php?topic=1273.0
the solution is simple. Charge $1 to join and allow nicks. That solves
ALL the problems except one, the only real one, the one that counts
more than all the others...

As reported by a former employee:
"The real reason Mr Zale insists upon users registering with their
FULL REAL NAME is so that he can humiliate offenders BY NAME in
public"

The story goes as follows:
As a vendor, he must provide his FULL REAL name to have any
credibilty, and as a business owner. It irks him to no end that he has
to provide his name and users don't. It sends him over the edge when
they dare to disagree with him or even worse, criticize the product
that is his "life's work". In the beggining powerbasic had quite a few
bugs and inconsitencies and some users would criticize him. To get
revenge he realized that using someones real name wsa more effective
based on the truth that if you "throw enough mud, some sticks". It has
nothing whatever to do with software pirates, or forum bots or
anythink like that, its about vengence, pure and simple.

In fact the truth is, everyone uses nicks, even you Jose, or should I
say Pepe?
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