Hey all, I submitted this this morning, but never anticipated getting this much traffic.
I really appreciate all the comments :) If the site is slow to load, there is a static version of the page here:
My fellow geeks, we need to have a talk.
121–130 of 249 posts
Re: My fellow geeks, we need to have a talk.
#122The author's point is well taken. But:
* Stop using comic sans
* What are you, illiterate?
* Tables? What is this, the 1990s? Ha ha ha!.
* This design looks like myspace
* You're using the default hashing algorithm in mysql instead of bcrypt?
* God I hate the arduino. It's not real hacking.
Which of these things is not like-the ooooother?
Re: My fellow geeks, we need to have a talk.
#123Aged skateboarder here. Been a few years since I have even rode one. The nature of skateboarders is something that I am glad the blog author got a taste of. I seem to compare every "culture" that I get involved in to skateboarders. I don't think you will find the same camaraderie in many other places.
It's very hard to explain. For something that is rather competitive, it is also very much a competition with yourself. Just the act of truly wanting to be a part of it will make you part of a family so to speak.
Re: My fellow geeks, we need to have a talk.
#124My policy: be nice to people. Don't be nice to ideas. IMO, ideas need harsh critique, and it's not always easy or worth it to spend the extra time padding the conversation to soften your point - it can even be counterproductive. So while I won't say that someone is stupid or dumb for suggesting the idea, I may say an idea was not well thought out if it really isn't. I expect my peers to do the same, because we're not…
The real problem seems to be people who can't separate themselves from the mistakes they make and take everything as an affront to their person. Receiving criticism means that your idea or work is at least worth considering.
When receiving criticism, I should do as you say, and assume my mistakes are the target, not my (oh so sensitive) self. But when handing out criticism, I should assume the other person will take it personally. It's like that principal for Internet robustness: be conservative in what you send, and liberal in what you accept.
Re: My fellow geeks, we need to have a talk.
#125Condescending feedback says more about the speaker than the listener. It is almost invariably about their own insecurity. This is true is almost all fields of endeavor, not just programming. Just a few examples of my own: Insecure bridge player: The queen of spades was a stupid play. What's wrong with you? Excellent bridge player: The queen of spades would have been a great play against a 4/2 split. But since you had…
I am insecure in every area you mention above, and I do everything in my power to approach advice exactly as you phrase it. Perhaps this is because I am insecure (all I know is that no one really knows everything), I choose to phrase things that way, often also seeing if they know something I didn't.
I don't think there's as close a tie between condescension and insecurity-- but perhaps in some cases that happens. I'd rather people just never be condescending, regardless of what position they're coming from.
Re: My fellow geeks, we need to have a talk.
#126I think there's two main problems here at play: excessive criticism and discouragement.
I actually like the first one, and most hackers I know do too. I've seen geeks take (possibly harsh) critics very well, way better than "normal" people. Personally, I find it useful as a route to self-development, but it's certainly more frequent than in other places.
About discouragement, I think the author is just visiting the wrong communities. Or maybe I've been really lucky all this time. Either way, I don't see evidences of this behavior being more common in our circles.
Re: My fellow geeks, we need to have a talk.
#127The author's point is well taken. But: * Stop using comic sans * What are you, illiterate? * Tables? What is this, the 1990s? Ha ha ha!. * This design looks like myspace * You're using the default hashing algorithm in mysql instead of bcrypt? * God I hate the arduino. It's not real hacking. Which of these things is not like-the ooooother ?
Sorry, your point is unclear to me.
Re: My fellow geeks, we need to have a talk.
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
Think of it as evolution in action. (And I shall take this whole post as a call to clean up my act.)
So all we have to do it just wait a few generations, and...
Hopefully just one generation as being an ass may stop them from getting along with the opposite sex and reproduce...
Re: My fellow geeks, we need to have a talk.
#129The author's point is well taken. But: * Stop using comic sans * What are you, illiterate? * Tables? What is this, the 1990s? Ha ha ha!. * This design looks like myspace * You're using the default hashing algorithm in mysql instead of bcrypt? * God I hate the arduino. It's not real hacking. Which of these things is not like-the ooooother ?
the one with the lolcats?
Re: My fellow geeks, we need to have a talk.
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
Vociferous opposition is not the same as condescension, though. There are some people who care deeply about a subject and just lack social tact. They'll jump on you for a variety of subjects, but they don't have ill intent. Then there are the people who are dicks and want to crush people who they disagree with. It's the point at which one starts displaying schadenfreude and denigrating others that the line has been c…
"Then there are the people who are dicks and want to crush people who they disagree with." The problem is that when people start mouthing off about factual issues they don't know anything about they can cause a lot of damage, so crushing them is often a necessity. When you're in a situation where there is a lot of potential for damage and the other person isn't willing to have an intellectually honest debate about th…
My problem with that attitude is that it's not humble. Not in a false, pretending-to-not-be-good way, but systematically not acknowledging that you may be wrong. Say what you think is correct, but always conduct yourself knowing you may be wrong.