Cheryl's Link
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- September 11, 1998
This Link of the Week is so important that if I could only get to one link, this would be the one I’d pick!
TalkLink is an IBM-sponsored forum for customers, consultants, and IBMers. Once subscribed, you can ask questions or respond to them, and there are databases available for searching. There are hundreds of forums covering all platforms, such as OS/390, OS/2, RS/6000, AS/400, and PCs. There’s a fee of $18/month and a one-time registration fee of $15, but it’s worth ten to a hundred times that much. Most TalkLink forums have an IBM developer who monitors the discussion on a daily basis. While there is no guarantee that you will have your question answered, most people do get an answer, either from an IBMer or another customer. It’s especially interesting when you have a cross-vendor question and see responses from all the parties, such as the question last year: “Should I convert CA-MIM to GRS now that GRS is free?”
This isn’t a replacement for IBM support, but it is intended for those questions that IBM support will not accept. For example, there is a WLM forum that provides a place to ask “How do I do this?” and answers are provided by the developers, consultants, or other customers. It’s REALLY valuable!
The best way to preview TalkLink is to go to the site and look at the TalkPreview area. They offer a few sample forums (FORUMPREVIEW), such as ISPF, so you can get a feel for the type of information that’s available. The section called WHATISTALK contains a list of the hundreds of forums.
I’ve only talked about the forums, but TalkLink actually provides a lot more, such as a customer-to-customer messaging service, a searchable database, announcements, and download libraries. Check this out today – you won’t regret it.