[Déjà Bru]

I'm posting this here because it is a general object lesson that I learned (again) and wish to share for the benefit of other members. That the game is OOTP X is incidental; this is a lesson with many applications.

Lesson: Watch what programs you download and install. Do you really need it? Is it worth the risk? Did you create a System Restore point before you installed it? Because, if the new program creates a conflict in your system, you'll wish you had.

I noticed tonight that I had this problem (I found these threads by advanced search; ironically, I pontificated in the earliest one):

Will not open external browser for reports
Open in External Browser not functioning.
Open in External Browser

Ok, what changed about my system? I uninstalled and reinstalled OOTP and IE7; no luck. Then I methodically went backwards in time, uninstalling programs until I found the culprit (stupid Lifehacker - I unsubscribed from that RSS feed):

Copy Path Shell Extension Windows Explorer - Lifehacker

Don't ask, I will instead. Why the heck did I download that piece of garbage? Anyway, that was it; I tested by reinstalling it, encountering the problem again, and uninstalling it, thereby resolving the problem again.

Another lesson: This was MY problem. I created it. I never expected OOTP to fix it for me because it not widespread. Many members do not realize how difficult (impossible?) it is to design a program that will avoid all minor system conflict problems. When I have such a problem and I see that only a few people have posted about it, or none, I know the score.

This is why the poor posters in these threads never received a satisfactory reply; their problem was not common enough for OOTP to devote resources to research and resolve. I hope these members ultimately found their answers like I did; I was lucky.

[endgame]

Lucky, yes, and diligent, self-motivated, persistent, unwavering in your attempts to solve the problem OR at least determine if it was your problem. You're right, it isn't just OOTP. In fact, it isn't just games. It can be a life application. There a many times in the course of a day, I start complaining or grumbling about a situation that's arisen or a problem that's reared its ugly head. Often, in retrospect, I find much of it came about because of choices I'd made or factors I'd allowed to develop in the way they had.

Thank you. Really. The fact that you took the time to share this is what makes you who you are AND what you were formerly known as.

[Déjà Bru]

Thanks, eg. I like to take a balanced approach to OOTP; I'll dump on them when I think they deserve it but support them in general when I can.

In these situations, we all have to remember what we are dealing with here. That is, how a small handful of people with limited resources have produced an overall pretty darned good product.

Do some tech support questions go unanswered? Sure, but hopefully my sharing this incident will help others understand why.

Plus there are these general lessons that I momentarily forgot (and I'm in charge of IT at work ):

• Don't download something unless you really need it,
• Trust but verify - just because Lifehacker recommends it doesn't make it a good idea, and
• Above all, "don't fix what ain't broke."