[Nms-cgi-devel] The Target Audience

[Dave C. <da...@da...>]

I thought you might be interested in reading the following exchange I've 
has with someone who tried to install one of my (non-nms) CGI scripts.

It gives a really interesting insight to the kind of person that we're
aiming at pleasing.

================================================================

From: xx...@xx...
To: <da...@ma...>
Subject: RE : ms-mail v1.0
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 23:56:12 +0200

Hi,

No sarcasm or malice intended but, just a comment from someone who
downloaded ms-mail and gave up trying to get it to work !

Simple ... as a description for your mail script is definitely a misnomer -
if you really want to see what simple means, have a look at AlphaMail
provided by codebrain.com.

Their email script works first time for any non-programmer.

Sincerely,

=============================================================

I replied:

Thanks for the comments. I'd be interested in hearing exactly what
problems you had with my ms-mail script. I'm guessing that you didn't like
it because you had to install other modules from CPAN.

I've taken a look at AlphaMail and whilst I can see why it would be easy
to setup and use, I can see a number of problems with the script which mean
that I wouldn't install it on one of me servers. These problems include:

* No use of "use strict" or "-w" in the script. The vast majority of Perl
  experts agree that these are essntial for any reasonably sized Perl
  program as the stop you from creating subtle bugs in your code.

* No use of CGI.pm. This module have been a part of Perl for many years
  now. It includes many functions to make it easier to write CGI programs.
  There's no good reason not to use it.

* Hand-rolled CGI parameter parser. The ReadParse function parses the CGI
  parameters that have been passed to the script. It dies it in a way that
  doesn't handle all cases. CGI.pm has a well-tested function called
  "param" that _does_ handle all cases.

* No use of taint mode. Putting a CGI script on your web server allows
  anyone in the world to run a program on your machine. This is very
  dangerous and you should pay close attention to security. Perl has a
  command line flag (-T) which turns on taint mode. In this mode, Perl
  will distrust any data from the outside and you need to examine it
  thoroughly before using it. It's generally accepted as a good idea to
  use taint mode in all CGI programs.

These problems aren't unusual. They are shared by the vast majority of the
free CGI programs that you'll find on hte web. It seems that most of the
people who write and distribute these programs don't actually know Perl
very well.

You might be interested in the programs at nms. This is a set of CGI
scripts that are written by Perl experts. They follow all of the rules
I listed about. You can take a look at the nms programs at:

  <http:/nms-cgi.sourceforge.net/>

Let me know how it goes.

========================================================================

From: "Ron Brown" <ro...@ia...>
To: "Dave Cross" <da...@ma...>
Subject: Re : ms-mail v1.0
Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2002 15:48:44 +0200

Hi Dave,

Thanks for getting back to me with such detailed facts.  Unfortunately your
technical explanations were wasted on me as I didn't have the foggiest clue
what you were talking about.

I am sure all the technical aspects you mentioned are true.  But, at the
risk of sounding facetious, you might as well have replied in a foreign
language.

I honestly can't tell you what problems I had other than to say I couldn't
get ms-mail to work.  I followed the instructions as I understood them,
meaning, from a layman's point of view.

If I had your programming knowledge I could have completed the set up
procedure as you intended, but I don't so I have to rely on a layman's
"paint by numbers" method.

My original interest in ms-mail was to fulfil one purpose, namely to collect
names and email addresses from my web site inviting people to join my
private members marketing club.  Nothing more.

My requirements were simple, a) invite someone to join, b) ask them to give
me their name and email address, c) receive a notification that someone
joined, d) send them a prewritten autoresponse.

Any script that can do this for me is the one I will use, especially if it
only takes 10 - 15  minutes to insert the variables and install, and most
importantly, works the first time.

My mention of Alphamail was not to compare your product unfavourably but
only because it fulfilled my requirements 100% without wasting hours of my
time.

Yes, AlphMail is probably as rotten as you say it is for all I know, but
it's 100% "newbie" friendly.  I'm fully aware that the word free software on
the 'net usually means "freebie trash" in many cases.

But, like all folk online who are trying to make a living on the internet,
necessity forces me to spend 99% of my time promoting my business.  I can't
afford to spend time grappling with the complexities of cgi or perl.

I now attempt D I Y installations because I've had my fingers burnt by
"experts" with $50.00+ per hour fees who are adept at stretching a 30 minute
job into 4 hours of labour charges.

I'm sorry if my reply is not what you want to hear - most folk online are in
the same boat as me - PC illiterate, technically ignorant, non-programmers,
stupid, dumb or whatever label you wish to bestow on them.

However, they make up 99% of the users online, whatever software or services
meets their needs quickly and easily is what they use or purchase, the
remainder that exceeds their personal ability are destined for the scrap
heap.

Sincerely,

===============================================================

Anyone got any comments?

Dave...

-- 

  Don't dream it... be it