The Daily WTF: Curious Perversions in Information Technology

2011-01-02 Reply Admin

Herby:
Just so everyone knows the 14th element is Silicon (Si) without the e!
FTFY (lifelong resident of said valley!)

Obviously, Silicone Valley is the cleavage between a pair of enhanced breasts.

Whether this is a good place to live depends on how you feel about enhanced breasts.

2011-01-02 Reply Admin

Codemonkey:
I had a job at a game studio where management compared us to workers in a pork-pie factory.

Ah, Agile.

2011-01-02 Reply Admin

Codemonkey:
Arvind:
Why do they need a guy to hold the sign? Why can't they just plant it into the ground there?
Um, because they don't own the land?
You see this all the time in the UK. You can't just go around planting signs all over the place, but it's fine to get a guy to stand there holding it up.

This was brought up last time this was posted, but the fact that it's NOT a WTF, doesn't preclude it from being reposted as a classic WTF.

sigh

2011-01-02 Reply Admin

EmperorOfCanada:
The type who hates developers are managers who have ... Oddly the other type who hate developers ... Marketing people usually think that programmers are .... Accountants usually just hate ... But it is middle management, usually in their 50s, that seem to fume ...
Then there are those talentless programmers who hate ... that would get them an A from some professor they have in their head.

Much hate in this one I see. Generalization is great for programming but it's not an appealing personality trait. Prejudice even less so.

2011-01-02 Reply Admin

ObiWayneKenobi:
Anon:
IMHO 90% of the problems in IT come from people like him and their obsession with changing it from a profession into the equivalent of unskilled labor.

This hit the nail on the head. Management is OBSESSED with devaluing software development (and IT in general) and making it a blue-collar trade instead of a white-collar profession.

Actually, they are obsessed about turning an unknown into a known. Don't forget; businesses aren't about how much fun coding is, or doing "neat" things. It's about making money. You make money by reducing the amount of variables in the equation. Fewer moving parts and all that.

Now while you and I might take a different approach to this problem ( namely, that of education; understanding the work involved leads oneself to being able to make accurate estimations ), these are management types. By virtue of who they are, they are unable to comprehend a fault within themselves. Therefore, if all they understand is blue collar work, then that's all everyone should be.

hoodaticus · 2011-01-02 Reply Admin

Anon:
there is something about developers that makes a certain type of person crazy.

Please elaborate; I'm really interested in hearing what you think that might be.

hoodaticus · 2011-01-02 Reply Admin

Clear:
Codemonkey:
I had a job at a game studio where management compared us to workers in a pork-pie factory.

Ah, Agile.

BEST AGILE JOKE EVER! Should be featured comment.

(but agile is still sexy and cool, still, very funny!)

hoodaticus · 2011-01-02 Reply Admin

vlad:
I'm certain you guys did not bring any extra value to the conversation by making the others feel bad about those mistakes or by trying to make yourselves feel superior.

Or by boring the everloving fuck out of us. Seriously, it's got to stop. I thought this place was supposed to be cool, with standards.

hoodaticus · 2011-01-02 Reply Admin

Anon:
My previous employer in a moment of drunken honesty said that "developers are horrendously overpaid" and "...they're blue collar workers earning white collar wages".

There is a scene from a Futurama episode where one of the main characters - a foul-mouthed, perverted, debauched robot (presently inhabited by the Professor due to a fun, pointless body-swapping extravaganza at work) opens up his torso hatch, and dozens of tiny Robo-Hungarian robotic carnies with chainsaws leap out and saw his enemy into bits. Which is what I wish upon your previous employer.

2011-01-02 Reply Admin

Nik:
Studley:
Which begs the question: If they're so slapdash about hiring skilled employees, how on earth did they recruit the guy to hold the sign?

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarg! why?!

Simple. Latin, being dead, stayed the same, but English has moved on.

In Latin, petitio principii is the fallacy and "begging the question" was, at the time, the correct translation into English.

But in modern English, "to beg" for something means to demand or expect it. So "begging the question" means what everyone thinks it does.

If you wanted to retranslate from Latin, it would probably be "to claim the question" or "to assume the initial point." But you can't say that "petitio principii" is correctly translated as "begging the question."

2011-01-03 Reply Admin

ari:
[image]

I just have to beg the question: How long have you been sitting on this picture waiting for an opportunity to post it?

2011-01-03 Reply Admin

Boile:
ari:
[image]

I just have to beg the question: How long have you been sitting on this picture waiting for an opportunity to post it?

And I just laughed that it took me almost 2 pages of comments to realized that the picture doesn't actually spell "FIRST"... Which makes the picture even more awesome!

2011-01-03 Reply Admin

My question is, are they still hiring?

2011-01-03 Reply Admin

Clear:

Codemonkey:
I had a job at a game studio where management compared us to workers in a pork-pie factory.
Ah, Agile.

They tend to use Spiral more than Agile at least on the larger projects (like the CoDs and the Starcrafts). Guys like Team Meat can use whatever they want because it's a much smaller scope and a much smaller team.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_model

2011-01-03 Reply Admin

Codemonkey:
I had a job at a game studio where management compared us to workers in a pork-pie factory.

Well, code monkeys in game industry, you deserve it.

2011-01-03 Reply Admin

EmperorOfCanada:
If you worked in Silicone Valley then you worked in San Fernando Valley which is where they make porn not software. Silicone is what makes boobies bigger. Silicon makes chips.
So the question that goes begging here is, How could you work in Silicon Valley and not learn to spell it? I am not a spelling Nazi but this spelling mistake sets off the same fake alarm as the misspellings in a Nigerian email.

Maybe he was making a joke - you have heard of humour, right?

2011-01-03 Reply Admin

anon:
Loren Pechtel:
RHuckster:
ObiWayneKenobi:
This hit the nail on the head. Management is OBSESSED with devaluing software development (and IT in general) and making it a blue-collar trade instead of a white-collar profession.

This always befuddles me because management often doesn't know how to organize their desktop icons much less "put words on a screen to tell the computer what to do" (in the words of my grandfather, who never used a computer in his life). You'd think if they weren't skilled enough to do it, they'd realize it qualifies as skilled work.

I think the fundamental problem is that the physical side of it obviously is easy and they so lack any comprehension of the mental side of it that they think it's easy, also.

That makes no sense. The physical side of all white collar work is easy, that's kind of what it means. The ultimate problem is not remotely IT related. Management tends to think that non management jobs are easy, regardless of the field.

White-collar vs blue-collar is always such a bullshit label. For example my company does high-end residential electronics integration (AV, phones, network, security). Some days I'm in the field installing speakers and calibrating media rooms, other days I'm at my desk programming highly complex control/network systems for the same project, still others I'm rounding up the so-called "junior techs" and making sure they have all their shit together. Am I white-collar or blue-collar? Maybe periwinkle?

Don't be so snotty to think that you're any smarter than your average bear because you <insert borderline useless but occasionally very handy skill here>, and consider yourself "white collar." My electrician is no less skilled than me or most of you even though he doesn't know Perl. Grunts like me can program circles around many of you, and still get the rest of the work done in time for dinner.

Sorry for the rant. Disrespectful people too cool for school that don't want to get their hands dirty have really been a PITA for me lately.

2011-01-04 Reply Admin

The management believes that only management deserves to be decently paid, others should be slaving from dawn till dusk for a minimal wage. IT with lots of highly paid employees is the number one victim of cost cuts, managers (even those with obscenely high salaries) are the last one.

ammoQ · 2011-01-04 Reply Admin

If it works, it works. Maybe they found someone that way, maybe not. IMO it makes some sense to try it; it's cheap and quick.

2011-01-04 Reply Admin

Probably a wtf in itself, but I received the following spam this morning...

Subject: ATTENTION, URGENT Perl Developer Role Available

Good day to you ****.

It is a real honour to approach you following on from what was a somewhat memorable Christmas upon which we, the humble people of this small Isle experienced the falling of a few droplets of snow.

Now that the daylight hours are at their shortest and the evenings are proving ever colder, it is with pleasure that I contact you today with a career opportunity to work for what is arguably the greatest News dissemination portal in the whole of the land.

Before diverging into a digressio on the merits of this magnificent agency, I must provide an in depth description of the role on offer.

My client looking for someone who can design and build database-driven websites on Linux, who can program the back-end in object-oriented fashion (ideally OO Perl), and build aesthetically pleasing front end user interface in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ajax (ideally jQuery). Ideally, they can write neat copy and manipulate artwork too (e.g. Photoshop).

This person will have an explorer mentality, so they'll already be familiar with a wide variety of common Linux packages, and will be able to help administer our Linux systems. Ideally, they will also have done some hacking. I don't mean illegal hacking, but in the sense of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack_(technology).

My client operate a team of four. Members of the team often work remotely, so the person we're looking for will be comfortable discussing the detail of their projects by telephone as well as face-to-face.

In addition to this, I have been informed that the offices of my client are somewhat opulent, adorned with the finest furnishings. Should this role seem suited to your requirements, then please do not hesitate to contact me in due course.

Best Regards

Should I reply?

2011-01-04 Reply Admin

Coyne:
It has nothing to do with skill. It only has to do with paying $40K-$50K/year instead of $400/year. Which is all any CEO thinks any employee is worth.

This is in the UK, so it's £40-50k, which is about US$60-80 at the moment, so definitely a better rate. And for a basic programming job, I'd say that's a pretty fair wage.

TRWTF is programmers who think they're worth ridiculous sums of money just because they can stamp out a bit of code.

boog · 2011-01-04 Reply Admin

ammoQ:
If it works, it works. Maybe they found someone that way, maybe not. IMO it makes some sense to try it; it's cheap and quick.

Cheap and quick, and if they do manage to find someone that way, they'll quickly wind up with a slew of new stories to submit to this site.

It's a win all around.

2011-01-05 Reply Admin

No the real problem is that software people are often so far up their own arses and are so socially inadequate that they inevitably manage to piss off anyone that they meet. The constant whinning about how hard software development is really gets up the nose of anyone who does real deveopment work or has to work with them.I do FPGA development work in VHDL and strangly enough you will not find a website dedicated to crap VHDL coding styles and the comments from software guys who take themselves far too seriously always make me laugh.

frits · 2011-01-05 Reply Admin

me:
No the real problem is that software people are often so far up their own arses and are so socially inadequate that they inevitably manage to piss off anyone that they meet. The constant whinning about how hard software development is really gets up the nose of anyone who does real deveopment work or has to work with them.I do FPGA development work in VHDL and strangly enough you will not find a website dedicated to crap VHDL coding styles and the comments from software guys who take themselves far too seriously always make me laugh.

Dude, around here you can just shorten that to "I work with embedded devices without files systems." We all would know what you mean.

2011-01-10 Reply Admin

Not to mention the self-appointed experts who think that because they can use a computer, that means they understand computers.[/quote]

My first job out of college was through a recruiter. I took a test that evaluated my skills, and utterly failed, as most of the questions were hardware related. I was sent to a large company (that did computer support) to update their training manual, which meant I opened a binder, removed pages and put in new pages. When the secretary told the boss she didn't know how to make columns wider on excel, I showed them. The boss said, "I thought you didn't know how to program Excel". I could not get across the concept of using vs. programming. So then they gave me something more technically "challenging", going through the database and randomly pulling names for follow up. They wanted me to go through the GUI. I asked "where is the database behind the GUI and wouldn't it more effective to pull, say , every tenth record ?" They could not understand that there was a file behind what they were seeing on the screen and there might be more efficient ways of accessing it. Didn't last long there. An I learned a valuable lesson in underating your skills.

tgape · 2011-01-10 Reply Admin

EmperorOfCanada:
Roger Parkinson:
When I was in Silicone valley during the dot com boom signs like this outside buildings were not uncommon, though all the ones I saw were nailed down rather than hand-held. That may be because no one could afford to sleep under a bridge in Silicone Valley in those days, so there was no one to hire to hold the sign. It was also hard to find a taxi etc.

If you worked in Silicone Valley then you worked in San Fernando Valley which is where they make porn not software. Silicone is what makes boobies bigger. Silicon makes chips.

So the question that goes begging here is, How could you work in Silicon Valley and not learn to spell it? I am not a spelling Nazi but this spelling mistake sets off the same fake alarm as the misspellings in a Nigerian email.

Your issue is you're assuming he didn't actually work in Silicone valley.

Silicone valley has had some people who were on the cutting edge of technology since, well, silicone. Possibly even before that, except, well, it wasn't named that. I've actually talked with one guy who seemed to think that's where all the high tech companies were, because all of his friends in 3D graphics worked there.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I've heard they do make a fair of software in San Fernando Valley - it's just not software that you or I would probably be willing to load onto our computers (me, due to malware concerns. You, I'm not sure about why not. But you probably already know why, so I don't need to tell you that.)

tgape · 2011-01-10 Reply Admin

Rob:
That's not a WTF at all.
There is a huge range in software developers. A lot of them suck. Some of them don't. The ones that don't suck, they tend to stick around at the same gig for a long time. Their employer gives them raises and more vacation each year and once you've got a busy life with a family and a house and all that jazz; looking for/changing jobs is a lot of work.

A lot of good developers are just showing up, doing a great job, going home. They aren't looking for better jobs. Even if they know they could make more money somewhere else.

A content developer isn't going to job fairs or user groups to network or checking careerbuilder.com; but he is driving to work at the established job he already has and will keep for the rest of his career, baring permanent disability or layoffs.

FTFY.

Of course, many good developers aren't very happy with their jobs. So they'll drive past this sign, take one look at it, and say to themselves, "Oh my. There's worse places I could be working at..." The sign still loses.

So, what the sign actually draws in, most of the time, are the people who are good enough at interviewing to get hired, and bad enough at their jobs to get fired. Not the people you want coming to your interview.

2011-01-13 Reply Admin

Ho Ho Ho. Working myselves mainly (but not exclusively) with VERILOG, both on FPGAs (STRATIX IIs) and on actual silicon design - I'd say there also is loads of WTF-ness in our field. Only the volume is much smaller - hence less chance of an actual WTF story being reported.

Only my 5 Pence of "whisdom".

2011-01-17 Reply Admin

I even suggest he did it on purpose? Silicones are not uncommon in wealthy surroundings, now are they?

2011-01-17 Reply Admin

vlad:
Everyone is getting off on correcting each other's trivial semantic or grammatical errors lately.
Nik:
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarg! why?!
""Begging the question" is a form of logical fallacy in which a statement or claim is assumed to be true without evidence other than the statement or claim itself."

"To beg the question does not mean "to raise the question." (e.g. "It begs the question, why is he so dumb?")"

(from begthequestion (dot) info)

Herby:
Just so everyone knows the 14th element is Silicon (Si) without the e!
FTFY (lifelong resident of said valley!)

So he used the phrase "beg the question" incorrectly. So he added an extra 'e' to the word Silicon. So what? Everybody understood what they were talking about. Some people maybe saw the extra 'e' as an error some maybe didn't notice it. Why shine a flashlight on it? I'm certain you guys did not bring any extra value to the conversation by making the others feel bad about those mistakes or by trying to make yourselves feel superior.

I even suggest he did it on purpose? Silicones are not uncommon in wealthy surroundings, now are they?

2013-12-10 Reply Admin

I've never seen it for recruitment before, but 'person holding sign' is a fairly common advertising format in England. Presumably minimum wage for the hours people are likely to see it adds up to less than the cost of paying for an advert to be placed somewhere prominant.

Classic WTF: Desperate Recruitment

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