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Was Warpstock as big of a blast as everyone says it was? Since the October 16th OS/2 e-Zine! came out at about the same time Warpstock got started, we decided to run a quick survey of the attendees to see what they thought of the event, and how it had affected their idea of OS/2's future.

This survey was not officially connected to Warpstock '98 in any way, and should not be confused with any exit survey that the Warpstock steering committee may have run themselves.

For this survey we only received 70 votes in all, 5 of which were "spoiled." A vote is considered spoiled if it isn't accompanied by an e-mail address, doesn't answer all of the questions, or is a duplicate. This left 65 valid votes.

Was the trip to Chicago worthwhile?

Most of the respondents, 66.7% of them, said they had a blast. Warpstock must have really hit it off well this year because there were very few people who came away thinking anything negative about its value at all. 4 people in all thought it was not worth it or were very disappointed.

Did you learn anything while there?

With so many presentations going on, from classes on programming to setting up a SOHO network and all the other vendor displays, there was plenty of opportunity to learn something new about OS/2 while at Warpstock. Again the majority of readers said they did indeed learn a great deal, with only two going so far as to say it was actually boring there!

What do you now think of OS/2 and its future?

One common theme we heard in the testimonies of Warpstock attendees was that it renewed their faith and spirit in OS/2 and its community. The experience of being immersed in hundreds of enthusiastic Warpers must have been close to a religious one. Even so, the results from this question on our survey showed that while the outlook is definitely positive, not everyone was willing to say they had total faith in Warp's future. 45.5% said they were very confident and another 36.4 thought OS/2 was "doing okay." Plus, an alarming 10% of attending readers had negative opinions of OS/2's place in the world of tomorrow. Perhaps organizers for Warpstock '99 might think of stressing OS/2's longevity as a theme for next year's event.

Complete Warpstock '98 Survey Results

Was the trip to Chicago worthwhile?

Category	Count	Percentage
Positively!	44	66.7%
It was worthwhile	8	12.1%
It was good	2	3.0%
It was okay, I guess	4	6.1%
Not worth it	2	3.0%
I was very disappointed	2	3.0%
I do not understand the question	3	4.5%
TOTAL	65	98.4%

Did you learn anything new while there?

Category	Count	Percentage
My brain overflowed!	10	15.2%
Yes I learned a lot	35	53.0%
I learned some	12	18.2%
I didn't learn anything	3	4.5%
It was boring!	2	3.0%
I do not understand the question	3	4.5%
TOTAL	65	98.4%

What do you now think of OS/2 and its future?

Category	Count	Percentage
The future of Warp is sunny and clear!	3	4.5%
I'm very confident in its future	30	45.5%
Warp is doing okay	24	36.4%
It's doomed	5	7.6%
Where's that copy of Windows?	2	3.0%
I do not understand the question	1	1.5%
TOTAL	65	98.5%