Object Petition

Note: This is the original petition to NeXT. We are no longer soliciting signatures; the petition was presented to NeXT and the final results have been announced in a press release dated March 25, 1996. Since we are not after more signatures, there is no longer a need to pass this on to your friends. Also, for the sake of historical accuracy, this version is the original text, which means that all URLs and email addresses below are out of date.

Please take a moment to read the following petition. When finished, please pass it on to every NEXTSTEP developer you know for their consideration.

Kits that have suffered this fate include the MusicKit and the PhoneKit. It appears from all NeXT's indications that in the future parts of the Indexing Kit will also be dropped.

NeXT addressed this problem correctly with the MusicKit. They donated the software to Stanford where it is updated and supported even today. Unfortunately, this has not been the fate of the PhoneKit, nor will it likely be the fate of the Indexing Kit.

This message is a petition to NeXT requesting they donate dropped kits to the MiscKit when support for them is discontinued. As a starting point, we request that NeXT donate the dropped PhoneKit and the parts of the Indexing Kit which they plan to drop from future NEXTSTEP releases to the MiscKit.

Here are several reasons why this would be to NeXT's advantage:

1. OpenStep will become more attractive because NEXTSTEP developers are likely to port dropped kits to OpenStep.
2. There will be more objects available for NEXTSTEP, making it a more attractive platform. NEXTSTEP developers will be able to fix bugs and continue to support the kits as a group effort.
3. The amount of NEXTSTEP software will increase; applications that depend on things like Indexing Kit and PhoneKit will not disappear as the kits disappear. The larger the software base, the more attractive NEXTSTEP becomes and the more copies of NEXTSTEP you will sell.
4. NeXT will have removed a sales objection to NEXTSTEP, namely: the mercurial support NeXT has, at times, shown for its software from release to release.
5. No longer will development around NeXT technology be such a risk. Customers will gain confidence in NeXT, so that they will be more likely to use the technology shipped in NEXTSTEP. Many users have made the decision that developing around NeXT kits such as DBKit or Indexing Kit means that an application will not work a year from now when support dries up. This does not have to be true.
6. NEXTSTEP developers who have made an investment in development time, hardware, and trust will be able to recoup all three by having access to the software in perpetuity.

Dropped kits should be donated to the MiscKit because:

1. The MiscKit has become a well known resource in the NeXT community and is used by a wide variety of NEXTSTEP developers from individual developers to large MCCA shops. Donating dropped kits to the MiscKit will allow them to be distributed to one of the largest possible audiences.
2. The MiscKit is well supported, with additions and bug fixes released nearly every month. NeXT donated kits would receive top-notch treatment; this high level of active support will further the satisfaction of NeXT's customers.
3. We promise to distribute the MiscKit on CD-ROM if NeXT will donate abandoned kits to the MiscKit. This will augment its current ftp distribution method and make it even easier to obtain.

NeXT, we love your technology. We only want to help you become the best possible software company. You gave us hope that this could happen when you donated the MusicKit to Stanford. Please help increase your software base, your developers, and your customers by donating to the MiscKit the kits for which you have no further use.

object-petition@hasc.ca

Please do not send responses to any of the signers.

If you do not have access to electronic mail but would still like to participate, send a short letter to:

Object Petition
c/o Don Yacktman
4279 N. Ivy Lane
Provo, UT, 84604

NeXT, on their original boxes, stated "We believe that a small group of people can change the world." It is our hope they still believe that and listen to what their users have to say.

Signed,

Don Yacktman, MiscKit Administrator, Don_Yacktman@byu.edu
Darcy Brockbank, Hutchison Ave. Software, samurai@hasc.ca
Eric K. Ringger, MiscKit Contributor, ringger@cs.rochester.edu
Greg Anderson, Anderson Financial Systems, greg@afs.com
Andrew Stone, Stone Design, andrew@stone.com
John Carmack, Id Software, johnc@idcube.idsoftware.com
Timothy Reed, Black Market Technologies, Inc., treed@gun.com
Paul Murphy, WSC Investment Services, Inc., murphy@wsc.com
Ted Shelton, IT Solutions, ted_shelton@its.com
Chris Cuilla, Chris Cuilla Design & Development, ccuilla@ccdd.com
Alex Ngheim, Author and consultant, alexn@kona.con.mci.com
Mark Chamberlain, Xexos, mark@xexos.com
Denise Howard, denise_howard@il.us.swissbank.com
Vince Demarco, vdemarco@bou.shl.com
and many others.

For information on the MiscKit, please contact Don_Yacktman@byu.edu. The MiscKit is currently available from the following ftp sites:

ftp://ftp.cs.orst.edu/software/NeXT/sources/classes/MiscKit1.4.1.s.gnutar.gz
ftp://ftp.et.byu.edu/next/misckit/MiscKit1.4.1.s.gnutar.gz
ftp://ftp.informatik.uni-muenchen.de/pub/comp/platforms/next/Developer/objc/misckit/MiscKit1.4.1.s.gnutar.gz

NeXT, the NeXT logo, IndexingKit, 3DKit, OPENSTEP, and NEXTSTEP are trademarks or registered trademarks of NeXT Software, Inc.
All other trademarks mentioned belong to their respective owners. .