From: johnturmel@yahoo.com (John Turmel)
Subject: TURMEL: LETS development costs
Date: Mon Apr 28 00:23:27 1997
     I just found this on Sabine's LETS newsgroup at:
http://gold.globalcafe.co.uk/webboard/$webb.exe

Conference: [14]The LETS Room
From: [15]Landsman C.S. Ltd / Michael Linton [16](lcs@mars.ark.com)
Topic: John Turmel's Ideas and Actions (1/1)
Date: 08 March 1997 06:17 AM
Dear Sabine,
You write, again, that John Turmel
"..donated $22,000 to Michael Linton for the development of LETS
software in 1984,"  but you wrong, again.
John invested $20,000 in 1984, and $2,000 later, in broadly ranging
development projects of Landsman Community Services. Probably only
about $3,000 - $4,000 in cash funds has ever been applied to directly
to software development, and that has been spread around something
like 8 or 9 different programmers, in Canada, the UK, Australia and
even the US.
     JCT: That is correct. It was never a donation because I always
Global LETS would eventually reimburse its initial development costs
someday soon. We were both engineers who had tasted hard times and
were doing something about it. I don't know how much of the
development work was paid for with cash or Green but I never worried
if it was used to board and shelter the project's Chief engineer. The
support was unqualified. The money was to be used as he saw fit with
no repayment date.
     As for thoughts that Michael has not given sufficient credit for
my part in LETS, the reputation the media had tagged me with could
have hinder LETS development. We agreed on keeping my political
promotion and his LETS grass-roots development at a distance and
communicated rarely more than once a year.

ML: All material we have ever distributed has been placed in public
domain, and made freely available to all who want it, you will notice.
     JCT: LETS was intended to be freeware from the start which is one
reason I never worried about getting my money back before Global or
National LETS had been established.

ML: You and under a dozen others contributed $100 (some more) - and we
thank you kindly for your support - as a registration and
acknowledgement to Landsman of past, present and most likely future
productions - which will of course be just as freely available,
     JCT: It's too bad that software which applies to the poor doesn't
find many users with much spare cash. But Michael has always been
profuse in his acknowlegment of my contribution to his cause and I
hope others who have contributed to his efforts in registering their
freeware with financial support take time to reflect on how much
Michael has done with so little and how that little will certainly be
remembered in his books. Trust me, the odd supporter who sent along a
few bucks added a rare spring to his step that day.
     I'm not even aware of what adventures Michael Linton has had as
he spread LETS seeds around the world but I'd bet any journals he may
have kept will be of great interest someday.
     I hope that our financial relationship in this has been made
clear. The Papa Engineer provided the support with no strings attached
and the Mama Engineer raised the brood of baby LETSystems and someday,
when they link up, I expect them to take care of our Statements of
Accounts. Maybe that's why I'm in such a rush for Global LETS?

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