Re: Those IT guys are loony

Hoh boy. Here we go....

Being idiotic enough to jump feet first where Presidential Aides fear to tread:

>Over the past few days some of the IT people on the list started jumping
>up and down, shouting and hollering. Me included. Some where pushing the
>Neva distribution others were shaking their heads at compiling everything.

Hm. Missed that one. Sounds like tempest in a teapot type stuff.

What's the best distro? The one you are the most familiar with and can make sing and
dance for a given use. I use gentoo. When I'm not using knoppix or openwrt. In my day
job I use Redhat and Solaris. YMMV. Tool for the job, that kind of thing.

>Most IT
>people are focused on servers, network security, IP address, subnets,
>compiling or package management etc...

Um. What else is there?

>The end user

Who?

>The IT industry is all about customer service.

As they say in the comics...BWAHAHAHA.
Really, the IT industry is all about providing me with cool toys.

>IT departments should be
>providing services and support for the things the end user needs.

See above. IT departments and 'end users' are a means to an end. Providing me with
cool toys.

Seriously, although not really relevant to this discussion, and I don't want to get off
on a rant (and I sure can on this subject), but since when has a corporate IT department
-ever- been user oriented? Individuals in such a department often are, and God bless
them, but the formal department...yeah, right.

>Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 13:14:13 -0800 (AKDT)
>From: Arthur Corliss <acorliss@nevaeh-linux.org>
>Subject: The World of Linux & AKLUG according to Corliss
>
>Greetings:
>
>I've returned once more.

wb. Not often we hear from a Grandee 8).

>I just read the nasty little spat that occured
>when Mike, out of the generosity of his heart, offered to teach a class to
>anyone on the list.

Hm. Missed that one too. OK, I'm officially clueless now.

Having missed the 'spat', I may be speaking out of ignorance (see official clueless
declaration above), but if someone's dissing Mike, they're out of line. Mike's a good
guy who has done much for Aklug and the Anchorage Linux scene in general. I'm here to
tell you that any arrogance on his part is misperceived and/or unintentional. Don't
make the mistake of confusing knowledge and experience with arrogance.

>From: Greg Madden <pabi@gci.net>
>Subject: Re: Those IT guys are loony
>Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:32:56 -0900
>
>Iam one of the 'uses' that joined in the late 90's. I have seen the number
>of users grow and the participation of ,at least, the older members
>dimish. I don't why, is it hacker aversion to users ? More Linux users
>is a goal though.

On a more serious note, we learn by doing. The discussion of 'hacker' vs 'user' is a
matter of degree. One learns by doing, whether it's a computer or cooking or a car.
Greg and I are both examples of learning linux by doing. We both started out scrabbling
amongst the howtos, and Greg at least is now a pretty knowledgable guy. And I am
comfortable and satisfied with my level of knowledge and experience. More than a user,
not quite a hacker. I don't know the in's and outs of python or perl. I know a bit
more C, and am clueless about C++. And that doesn't prevent me from having strong
opinions about things such as javascript (pure evil) or apache (bloatware for most uses)
or anything else that strikes my fancy. But if a Grandee (a -real- grandee, not a
self-appointed one) has something to say about such things, I've discovered it behooves
me to listen. Closely.

Hm. Perhaps that's the type of 'user' that people don't like...? If so, mea culpa and
I don't care 8).

Most of the rest of the commentary in the 'loony' digest addresses the aklug meetings
and direction, which I cannot legitimately address because I haven't been attending.
That's not because of any 'disgust' or 'boredom' or anything negative, it's because I
live a ways out, and when I get home, I want to stay home. And my own focus and
directions have changed. Also, in my advancing middle age, I've become an advancing
lazy b*st*rd. I don't live eat and breathe technology as I used to.

Conceptually, I have no problem with the group of like minded enthusiasts, everyone
doing their own thing, but available to help out when asked or needed (think model
airplane club).

I do find the _list_ useful because when I do have a question or an issue, I can post
and usually get intelligent feedback. Sometimes, on rare occasion, I can even return
the favor. So the list, at least, works for me.

Hm, on second thought, maybe the 'model airplane club' is a bad analogy, because they
are part of a larger highly organized, hierarchical, nationwide organization, with
levels and certs and well defined advancement paths and stuff like that. I don't think
that'd work in this setting. Nor should it necessarily. And besides, it's a lot of
work. (see lazy b comment above)

Anyway, enough rambling. I do support and will continue to support aklug with posts and
resources and other things as I am able.

Thanks for listening.

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Received on Sat Mar 17 12:27:48 2007