“I didn’t know anyone was still using that,” the man said to me as he tipped his head back in mock disbelief. My guys had warned me of what was being spread around but I still wasn’t prepared for it.  In one fell swoop - in the absence of any facts, functionality or discussion - I suddenly felt embarrassed to be using the finest development environment in its class the world has ever seen. Insidious. Underhanded. Manipulation. What I couldn’t articulate at the time became later crystal clear:  I had been assaulted. It worked.

“You can have as many as you want [Pause], up to twenty,” were the words of the MS Exchange instructor during the admin class I sat in on. One of the students then chimed in with, “Ok, so we’re limited to twenty.” The instructor immediately interrupted him, “No, you can have as many as you want [Pause], up to twenty.” Did he get it? They all got it. The party line was instilled. It worked.

“What about Lotus Notes?” was the typical response from prospective customers to inquiring Microsoft partners when Exchange first came on the scene. These partners would consistently respond to that question – word for word - with, “Yeah, I installed it once. It’s kind of complicated.” Had those people installed Lotus Notes? No. Was or is Lotus Notes complicated? No. But it worked.

“What to do about your legacy Lotus Notes applications?” No, correction, there is nothing “legacy” about IBM Notes/Domino. Enough! Enough with the propaganda. Enough with illusions choking out reality. Enough with being made to feel bashful for using the finest collaboration tool out there. Enough with what “works”.

Remember this, boy. All dwarfs may be bastards, yet not all bastards need be dwarfs.”  And with that he turned and sauntered back into the feast, whistling a tune. When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.