“I have toyota corola” • Hacker News Board

Re: “I have toyota corola”

#361

Post by zao » Wed, Nov 23, 2016, 12:57 PM UTC

dnr wrote: post #318

freehunter wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get something similar. I was an early adopter of a popular email service, so I managed to get @ .com. Pretty neat, pretty simple, right? Except I have a really common name, and people seem think that if the email address has their name in it, it must be their email address. I get sign-ups for Facebook all the time. I get emails about credit scores that make me panic until I realize I didn't sign up for that service…

Yup :( My email is @gmail.com (six characters total) and I get about 1-1.5 misdirected emails per day. Receipts, phone bills, homework, meeting minutes, personal messages that someone passed away, angry email from a homeowner to his general contractor (in Botswana), and even a international love letter. It's quite annoying, but the worst is sites that make it very hard to unsubscribe, or don't understand that it's po…

Good thing you're not sucked into the systems of UPS. They refuse to talk to anyone not the sender or receiver.

I've got an annual delivery of an expensive watch in my inbox like clockwork every year.

Re: “I have toyota corola”

#362

Post by matthewpersico » Wed, Nov 23, 2016, 2:42 PM UTC

ldfdr wrote: post #164

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Knuth is such a class act. I don't think I've ever heard a negative story about him. Contrast him to, say, the harsh laguage Linus Torvalds routinely engages in or the many stories pointing out Steve Jobs' unfriendly side. I'm not 100% sure if you have to be a jerk to get ahead in life and lean towards 'yes' on this but when I see guys like Knuth, I wonder if nice guys do win sometimes. >TXT2COM As an 80s BBS kid, I…

You're confusing being a jerk with communication styles and cultural differences. You'd never hire anyone from the American inner city, from parts of Scotland and Ireland, parts of New York, and similar. Some very nice people talk loudly, swear, and use politically incorrect language. This is part of the reason some URMs can't get ahead in US corporate culture. Yes, Linus does swear a lot, and uses aggressive languag…

"You'd never hire anyone from the American inner city, from parts of Scotland and Ireland, parts of New York, and similar. Some very nice people talk loudly, swear, and use politically incorrect language."

Being born in New York (City), still living close and working there, I have to smile at the distinction between "American inner city" and "parts of New York". It just reinforces our attitude that there is New York and then there is everywhere else!

Thank you!

Re: “I have toyota corola”

#363

Post by kahrkunne » Fri, Nov 25, 2016, 11:26 PM UTC

ivraatiems wrote: post #209

ldfdr wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're confusing being a jerk with communication styles and cultural differences. You'd never hire anyone from the American inner city, from parts of Scotland and Ireland, parts of New York, and similar. Some very nice people talk loudly, swear, and use politically incorrect language. This is part of the reason some URMs can't get ahead in US corporate culture. Yes, Linus does swear a lot, and uses aggressive languag…

Linus doesn't swear because it's "his culture." He swears to put people down. There's a difference between using harsh language casually to talk about something , and using that kind of language to talk down a person or their work. Linus does the latter. Not only that, but he openly admits it. I don't understand why there's confusion on that score. He knows what he's doing, he knows it's dickish, he does it anyway be…

If I do shit work, I want people to talk me down for it. And I don't think I'm alone in that, either. Just as you don't like being talked down to, I don't like it when people don't put me in my place for the sake of my feelings.

Re: “I have toyota corola”

#364

Post by n20 » Mon, Nov 28, 2016, 7:01 AM UTC

0xbadcafebee wrote: post #351

beachy wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to join the marines, you'll be screamed at, verbally abused, and generally pushed to your limits. It has to be that way, they are training 18 year olds to run to the sound of gunfire and perform under fire and the threat of death. You must put up with it or you do not belong in that group. At the other extreme, if you want to join your local flying club, you can expect to be treated courteously. If anyone…

It's software. Software. Programming. There is no tough mentality required to write good software. You do not have to be a dick to write good software. Ever.

I disagree. Some software projects require a tremendous amount of communication to accomplish any task of any measurable importance. If there are three reasonable people involved in this communication, being a dick is probably not required. If there are tens of thousands of individuals involved, you will either be forced to be less than polite to some of them or you will not accomplish anything.

Politely saying no takes time and effort, especially if communication isn't your strong point. If I'm walking down the street, I'll probably be pretty polite to the first homeless guy that asks me for a dollar. By the time the hundredth flags me down before I'm even halfway to my destination, I'll have boiled that initial polite response down to "Fuck off."

Re: “I have toyota corola”

#365

Post by omegaham » Mon, Nov 28, 2016, 11:51 AM UTC

n20 wrote: post #364

0xbadcafebee wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's software. Software. Programming. There is no tough mentality required to write good software. You do not have to be a dick to write good software. Ever.

I disagree. Some software projects require a tremendous amount of communication to accomplish any task of any measurable importance. If there are three reasonable people involved in this communication, being a dick is probably not required. If there are tens of thousands of individuals involved, you will either be forced to be less than polite to some of them or you will not accomplish anything. Politely saying no ta…

I agree with this, especially since a lot of people will interpret politeness as being a sign that your decision is negotiable.

That polite "No, because of X, Y, and Z" rapidly turns into "I have made up my mind, no" and then into "This is not a fucking debate, so no, and fuck you." very quickly, especially if you're dealing with a constant deluge of stupid requests.

I'm not going to judge Linus for his outbursts, as obviously his method seems to work pretty well.