stever - 4:53 pm on Jun 26, 2002 (gmt 0)

Not to be too negative, but isn't there a "comfort blanket" effect of using standard commercial software for people who are "New to Web Development" (as the forum says)?

I certainly would have found the concept of Linux, PHP, MySql, etc, far too intimidating at the beginning of the steep web development learning curve. Indeed, it is only now that I am more comfortable with basic development concepts, that I am starting to experiment with all of the above.

Despite the fact that I can now look back and say that it may have been better for me at the start to sit down with the O'Reilly and Wrox CSS, HTML and PHP books, I seriously doubt whether I would have lasted at that time had it not been for the help I received from (in my case) commercial WYSIWYG and graphics editors.

I would also say that the online communities devoted to the commercial software I have used have tended to be a touch more tolerant of new user questions than some equivalent open-source forums and lists. Whilst someone who has spent some time dealing with people online might take flames with a pinch of salt, again someone who is new may well be adversely affected at an early stage of their web experience.