Gil's Law: Text adoption and the publishers.

Gil's law:

Publishers don't lie, I think, but they set unrealistic deadlines 

Corollary:

Textbooks and/or ancillaries will always be late.

 Corollary

Never adopt a textbook, including a new edition of one you are using, until it has been out, and used successfully, by a program of a similar size for at least one full semester. 

The law and its corollary are the results of personal experience--"sufrimiento en carne propia," as we say in Spanish.

Twenty five years ago, late July, I was told that I had to teach Italian, and order the textbooks. 

After consulting with book reps I decide on a textbook, asking "Are you sure the lab manual/workbook will be ready for the beginning of classes in August?"

Suffice to say that the publishers had to xerox the first 3 chapters of the workbook/lab manual after classes started.

Ten years ago an electronic workbooks and lab manuals were added to the book we had been using. It was decided to adopt them.

There were problems with the build, the desk help, you name it... The publishers had to give very student  a free hard copy of the workbook and lab manual.

"Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." 

The electronic versions were adopted after I personally tested the new version during a summer session, and all went without a hitch.  Never had a problem after that. (The Dutch bunch was not in charge.) Quia was excellent!

"Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

 Fool me thrice...  I am an idiot!

February or March 2012, we adopted a new edition of a textbook, a version for accelerated students, all with a rebuild of the online lab. 

I asked the techno man "what if the lab isn't ready on July 1, as you say it will?"  "It will be ready and going by July 1. If not we'll send someone to build the whole thing.

"Can you say nightmare?" "I know we can?" We had them!

Corollary:

Ready and going mean different things to developers and to users.

"Names are withheld to protect the innocent." After all I am the one who decided, or didn't make a strong enough argument against the adoption.