• disnarda (unregistered)

    Why did Alex delete the messages of Top Cod3r? They were my favorites!!!

  • Zap Brannigan (unregistered) in reply to lyates
    lyates:
    From Wiktionary:

    Etymology

    First attested in 1537. From Latin sȳcophanta (“informer, trickster”) from Ancient Greek συκοφάντης (sukophantēs) from σῦκον (sukon, “fig”) + φαίνω (phainō, “I show, demonstrate”). The gesture of "showing the fig" was a vulgar one, whom was made by sticking the thumb between two fingers, a display which vaguely resembles a fig, which is itself symbolic of a cunt (sykon also meant "vulva"). The story behind this etymology is that politicians in ancient Greece steered clear of displaying that vulgar gesture, but urged their followers sub rosa to taunt their opponents by using it.

    Yea uh.... that's uh... the ummm definition I would have used. The one from 1537. I'm sure that there isn't a more modern meaning.

  • lokey (unregistered) in reply to Chris
    Chris:
    The real WTF is that the dimensions are not stated using the metric system.

    No, the REAL WTF is the metric system!

  • Not me (unregistered) in reply to disnarda
    disnarda:
    Why did Alex delete the messages of Top Cod3r? They were my favorites!!!
    I don't miss them. The novelty has worn off, and now his shtick is pedestrian and lame. Moreover, the noise overtakes the signal when people take his comment at face value and make an earnest reply.
  • (cs) in reply to webhamster
    webhamster:
    I knew a "Jim" once. To this day I'm not sure exactly what he *did* there but I'm pretty sure his "full-time" job was just a part-time gig with free long distance for him.

    He got a lot of respect for working so hard and putting in such long hours until people realized his output just wasn't matching up with all that time. It still amazes me that he managed to get away with it for over 2 years.

    It's been several years but my recollection is he took his firing pretty well since his business was thriving by then. I think they let him go just weeks before he was set to leave on his own.

    Hah! Amateurs!

    I worked with a guy who developed an entire X-Windows front end composed of buttons for a major credit-card company; as a contractor. Basically, he cut'n'pasted each button to produce the next button. I'm not sure, but I believe that a mentally sub-normal five year old with a purple crayon did the GIFs.

    This became, of course, the critical point-of-success for the entire multi-million Icelandic Krone processing system.

    I know he didn't call it a "framework," because the term hadn't been invented yet, let alone translated into Hindi. I know we didn't call it a POS, because that term had a technical meaning in the industry. We just thought dark POS thoughts about it, as we struggled to bring it up on our 19.2K modems.

    But we'd underestimated the potential for genius.

    Now that it was the critical point-of-success, it was obviously On The Critical Path. Which meant that the guy who "built" it could re-sell consultancy services to maintain it, even though he was still working a 40+ hour week (actually longer, since the blanket "overtime is OK, so long as your manager signs off on it" policy was cancelled after about ten stupendous and physically impossible bills) at the same time.

    This was obviously not a sensible long-term plan. It was therefore decided, by various dubious upper-management types, that the solution would be to productise the buttons.

    This they duly did.

    Now, the same contractor, working a standard 40 hour week on entirely unrelated stuff, was being charged out, through the company that his employers had paid to set up, for a "product" which consisted of a bunch of buttons that nobody ever pressed because, by now, we'd all worked out how to do it on the command line anyway.

    An urban legend suggests that the buttons were eventually sold to SAP. With or without purple crayon; I don't know.

    I swear on the life of my favourite amoeba that this is all true.

  • Phalanx (unregistered)

    Hmmm, I still sometimes read through a Daily WTF, then go to the comment section, after a bit I think "Hey, I haven't seen a MFD in a while..." and then I realize MFD is over!

    It's such a nice warm feeling.

  • (cs) in reply to Aaron
    Aaron:
    25" x 25" = 4.3 square feet, not 625 square feet

    Note from Alex: Sheesh, a day of typos; fixed!

    Not that anybody at all on this site would even consider quoting Spinal Tap.

    I miss those days.

    When's the wooden table redesign coming back?

  • blunder (unregistered) in reply to Not me

    I sort of agree with that, but it depends on my mood that day.

    Either way, Alex can do what he wants, but I saw no problems with turning adblock back on.

  • Steevie (unregistered) in reply to Justice
    Justice:
    So what happened with Martin and the receptionist? Don't leave us hanging! Unless...
    ...she's Irish?
  • (cs) in reply to rfsmit
    rfsmit:
    BobB:
    I have another 'job' so to speak, but I keep it apart from my day job. Oddly enough the second task is in no way related to computers...

    You can get cream for that.

    They've got cream for flipping burgers now?

    .

    .

    .

    Or did you just mean the associated acne?

  • rast (unregistered) in reply to Not me
    Not me:
    disnarda:
    Why did Alex delete the messages of Top Cod3r? They were my favorites!!!
    I don't miss them. The novelty has worn off, and now his shtick is pedestrian and lame. Moreover, the noise overtakes the signal when people take his comment at face value and make an earnest reply.

    So delete those people.

  • (cs) in reply to Zap Brannigan
    Zap Brannigan:
    lyates:
    From Wiktionary:

    Etymology ...snip...

    Yea uh.... that's uh... the ummm definition I would have used. The one from 1537. I'm sure that there isn't a more modern meaning.
    Since you seem to like definitions so much, here are a couple for 'etymology': The facts relating to the formation or derivation of a word. The origin or history of words The origin and development of a word, traced back as far as possible in time, usually by the methods of comparative linguistics.

    So, yeah, the 1537 meaning is more relevant to the post than any modern meaning...

  • Steve (unregistered) in reply to Franz_Kafka
    Franz_Kafka:

    So are we deleting trolls now? I guess it's one step removed from nuking people who disagree with alex.

    And then it's just a hop and a skip to gas showers and shallow graves.

    amischiefr:
    Yeah, I had my earlier reply deleted as well. All Hail Nazi moderation of forums!!!

    See?

  • Anonymous Cowherd (unregistered)

    TopCod3r apparently wrote: "My company is aware of the potential problem of people taking personal phone calls, so we have our secretary screen all calls first (we have setup the phone to prevent direct dialing to an office or cube)."

    So, did anyone save the complete post? Can we get a repost, please?

    captcha: fuck the moderator (How timely!)

  • Anonymous (unregistered)

    What exactly does one have to do to get one's comment censored? Assuming it's Alex doing the censoring, can Alex post about that on the main page, please? This silent shit is getting old.

  • Sam Hill (unregistered)

    Martin is the entire Windows "department" for months, Martin overhears all Jim's conversations, and Martin can't tell they're unrelated to Jim's tasks? Martin's coworkers might have had reason to disrespect.

  • (cs) in reply to DaveK
    DaveK:
    rfsmit:
    BobB:
    I have another 'job' so to speak, but I keep it apart from my day job. Oddly enough the second task is in no way related to computers...

    You can get cream for that.

    They've got cream for flipping burgers now?

    .

    .

    .

    Or did you just mean the associated acne?

    That reminds me, you got the next shift at Mooby's.

    I did work as a busboy in college for a Mexican spot. I never could understand how kids got rice all over the place in the span of 1.2 seconds.

  • (cs) in reply to Zap Brannigan
    Zap Brannigan:
    Yea uh.... that's uh... the ummm definition I would have used. The one from 1537. I'm sure that there isn't a more modern meaning.
    Repeat after me: "D'oh!"
  • RBoy (unregistered) in reply to rast
    rast:
    Not me:
    disnarda:
    Why did Alex delete the messages of Top Cod3r? They were my favorites!!!
    I don't miss them. The novelty has worn off, and now his shtick is pedestrian and lame. Moreover, the noise overtakes the signal when people take his comment at face value and make an earnest reply.

    So delete those people.

    The people that then would not understand in any way shape or form why they were deleted?

    I guess on this account, we'll agree to dignissim.

  • (cs) in reply to RBoy
    RBoy:
    I guess on this account, we'll agree to dignissim.
    Or perhaps dogmism.

    "My karma ran over your dogma"

  • João (unregistered) in reply to Just Some Guy
    Just Some Guy:
    Crabs:
    It's sad to see how many people don't respect HR. My HR representative is awesome. She's so hot^H^H^H helpful and has a great ass^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H is very easy to talk to. Really, you guys need some help.

    Our HR's pretty cool, too. I think it has a lot to do with the size of the company. We have about 50 people, and HR's job is to screen job applicants, juggle the vacation calendar, and send the payroll off each week. She does her job, we do ours, and everyone gets along famously.

    Yeah, but is she hot?

  • cph (unregistered)

    What is it ? Of course Windows supports long filena~1.

  • (cs) in reply to bsaksida
    bsaksida:
    ChiefCrazyTalk:
    The real WTF is - why didn't he use his cell phone?

    This happend over 10 year aggo, so no cell phones. One hint shoud be DOS and other hint is Starting the Windows Development. it Coud be started at Win95 or even 3.11

    Cellphones have existed for 20 years at least. I worked on a cellphone billing application back in '97, and it'd been in existence since at least '92 (when the company bought it from another operator who'd been using it for years).

    Of course the US are technologically a bit backwards when it comes to such things when compared to especially Europe and Asia.

    And as to HR people: there are good ones. My sister is one :)

  • Levi (unregistered)

    If Topcod3r's comments are "cluttering" up the comments, then why doesn't the forum get changed to a threaded version just like slashdot, digg, and pretty much every other comment system out there?

    Topcod3r's thread can even start collapsed by default if people are still worried.

  • (cs) in reply to Crabs
    Crabs:
    It's sad to see how many people don't respect HR. My HR representative is awesome. She's so hot^H^H^H helpful and has a great ass^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H is very easy to talk to. Really, you guys need some help.

    Don't you hate it when you do a strikethrough on text, and it's displayed as H^H^H^H^H^H^H?!

  • (cs) in reply to snoofle
    snoofle:
    Allen:
    Puleeze! Name one company that gets 8 hours work out of any one employee each day. In IT you are paid for what you know, not what you do.
    In my current position, we are on-call 7x24. ...

    You work 7 hours a day, 24 days a week? :P

    Kidding aside, I've always thought a job where you need to be on-call 24x7, work overtime, etc. SUCKS. I know I'd never be able to take it :(

    I've occasionally had to take the late night call at my current job, but that was only when something was FUBAR, and was in the extreme exception.

    I assume you're being paid bucket-loads of money, though?

  • OutWithTheTroll (unregistered) in reply to Levi
    Levi:
    If Topcod3r's comments are "cluttering" up the comments, then why doesn't the forum get changed to a threaded version just like slashdot, digg, and pretty much every other comment system out there?

    Topcod3r's thread can even start collapsed by default if people are still worried.

    I don't see the need to make an effort to make it easier for trolls. Alex is doing a great job of protecting the not so frequent visitors from being hooked by them, so all is well.

  • Hsilamot (unregistered)

    Definitely awkward

  • OutWithTheTroll (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous Cowherd
    Anonymous Cowherd:
    So, did anyone save the complete post? Can we get a repost, please?

    That would defeat the purpose a bit, wouldn't it?

    Anonymous Cowherd:
    captcha: fuck the moderator (How timely!)
    Does she have a Cute Eye? And more important, is she Irish?
  • (cs)

    I worked with a guy from Nigeria once, whose "clever" trick was to forward his office phone to his Mum's house (in Nigeria) before he went home in the evening. Then he'd call his office number and speak to her, while the bill was picked up by our employer. Obviously, after a while, they got a spike on their phone bill and hauled him in. Being an idiot, he denied everything (despite the documentary evidence put in front of him), so they fired him. If he'd come clean he would have had a verbal warning only. What a muppet!

  • itsmo (unregistered) in reply to donniel
    donniel:
    snoofle:
    Allen:
    Puleeze! Name one company that gets 8 hours work out of any one employee each day. In IT you are paid for what you know, not what you do.
    In my current position, we are on-call 7x24. ...

    You work 7 hours a day, 24 days a week? :P

    Kidding aside, I've always thought a job where you need to be on-call 24x7, work overtime, etc. SUCKS. I know I'd never be able to take it :(

    I've occasionally had to take the late night call at my current job, but that was only when something was FUBAR, and was in the extreme exception.

    I assume you're being paid bucket-loads of money, though?

    You have obviously never worked in support - this is how it works: Using an extremely WTF'y process and employing programmers who don't know what they're doing (it would be great if I could say 'you know who you are' but unfortunately these guys tend to think they are any good), a POS software is deployed and the bugs are not fixed because 'there is no budget'. Then the poor support schmucks basically become part of the computing resource (different budget to pay for these poor f@ckers) and spend their sorry lives fighting fires and correcting repeating errors 24x7 and nothing ever improves - the money can be Ok but not (IMHO) enough for all this sh!t.

    (Hey, look what I did above - they're, there and their - all used correctly. Must be a record)

  • someone else (unregistered) in reply to OutWithTheTroll
    OutWithTheTroll:
    Levi:
    If Topcod3r's comments are "cluttering" up the comments, then why doesn't the forum get changed to a threaded version just like slashdot, digg, and pretty much every other comment system out there?

    Topcod3r's thread can even start collapsed by default if people are still worried.

    I don't see the need to make an effort to make it easier for trolls. Alex is doing a great job of protecting the not so frequent visitors from being hooked by them, so all is well.

    TRWTF is considering TopCod3r a troll. The posts are strictly on topic and show a profoud understanding. As has been pointed out, people can learn from them.

  • OutWithTheTroll (unregistered) in reply to someone else
    someone else:
    TRWTF is considering TopCod3r a troll. The posts are strictly on topic and show a profoud understanding.

    Tolling on-topic is still trolling.

    And showing a profound understanding makes you a better (and thus more annoying) Troll.

  • the same someone else (unregistered) in reply to OutWithTheTroll
    OutWithTheTroll:
    Tolling on-topic is still trolling.

    And showing a profound understanding makes you a better (and thus more annoying) Troll.

    So let me rephrase: Tongue-in-cheek is not trolling.

  • Dlareg (unregistered) in reply to Carlos92
    Carlos92:
    The RS-232 interface also suggests this did not happen in the last several years.

    Why?! it's extremely simple to program. There are scores of microcontrollers which accept it.

    Being an Engineer who has to do his own programming I would choose RS-232 over anything else (IP / USB). As long as the data rate demands are not extremly high.

  • OutWithTheTroll (unregistered) in reply to the same someone else
    the same someone else:
    So let me rephrase: Tongue-in-cheek is not trolling.

    Correct, tongue-in-cheek is not trolling.

    Pretending you are serious on the other hand, is.

    And now back to the important stuff?

  • Rhialto (unregistered) in reply to Levi
    Levi:
    If Topcod3r's comments are "cluttering" up the comments, then why doesn't the forum get changed to a threaded version just like slashdot, digg, and pretty much every other comment system out there?

    Topcod3r's thread can even start collapsed by default if people are still worried.

    Web-based message boards are a WTF anyway, since there is no way to make them remember which messages you have read and which you haven't. So when you come back later for more, you have to scan everything again. Unless they're not threaded, but that is a WTF on its own, as you point out.

  • Freedom (unregistered) in reply to OutWithTheTroll

    The CEO's Sycophant.

  • (cs) in reply to Aaron
    Aaron:
    25" x 25" = 4.3 square feet, not 625 square feet

    Note from Alex: Sheesh, a day of typos; fixed!

    One more typo, Alex, In the final sentence: "whole new round of disparaging remarks form the other developers" Writing too much HTML lately, eh?

  • g0ats3 (unregistered)

    LAST!!!!!!!!!!111!!!!eleven

  • D (unregistered)

    Ah, banning the few good people left now, are we? Pathetic. This site's gone to hell and beyond since a few months.

    Time to find myself a new read at work..

  • Jamface (unregistered) in reply to donniel
    donniel:
    Crabs:
    It's sad to see how many people don't respect HR. My HR representative is awesome. She's so hot^H^H^H helpful and has a great ass^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H is very easy to talk to. Really, you guys need some help.

    Don't you hate it when you do a strikethrough on text, and it's displayed as H^H^H^H^H^H^H?!

    Just be glad^M you're not posting^M from a windows machine!^M

  • (cs) in reply to ParkinT
    ParkinT:
    Aaron:
    25" x 25" = 4.3 square feet, not 625 square feet

    Note from Alex: Sheesh, a day of typos; fixed!

    One more typo, Alex, In the final sentence: "whole new round of disparaging remarks form the other developers" Writing too much HTML lately, eh?
    I thought Alex was a .NET developer - in which case I'd be quite surprised if he wrote much HTML at all (spoken as a developer who's a few months into his first ASP.NET position and is less than enamoured of Microsoft's take on "web forms"...)

  • Zap Brannigan (unregistered) in reply to Mel
    Mel:
    Zap Brannigan:
    lyates:
    From Wiktionary:

    Etymology ...snip...

    Yea uh.... that's uh... the ummm definition I would have used. The one from 1537. I'm sure that there isn't a more modern meaning.
    Since you seem to like definitions so much, here are a couple for 'etymology': The facts relating to the formation or derivation of a word. The origin or history of words The origin and development of a word, traced back as far as possible in time, usually by the methods of comparative linguistics.

    So, yeah, the 1537 meaning is more relevant to the post than any modern meaning...

    You got me. I read the subject "Re: What is a sycophant?" and my tired eyes skipped over "etymology."

    Maybe a better subject line would have been 'Re: What is the origin of sycophant?'

    But I take my lumps.

  • (cs) in reply to amischiefr
    TopCod3r masquerading as 'I walked the dinosaur':
    My company is aware of the potential problem of people taking personal phone calls, so we have our secretary screen all calls first (we have setup the phone to prevent direct dialing to an office or cube).
    Exactly why was this deleted?
  • Steve (unregistered) in reply to Channel6
    Channel6:
    Exactly why was this deleted?
    Umm, because it's stupid troll shit maybe?
  • Aran (unregistered)

    Did they call him MARTIN~0 too?

  • Redbeard (unregistered)
    He simply saw a job advertisement – Windows Software Engineer – applied for it, interviewed, and accepted the offer. Little did he know that he’d be the company’s first non-UNIX developer
    That is the WTF - How do you NOT know that you are the only non-UNIX dev, I see that as a failure on Martin's part during the interview.
  • Redbeard (unregistered) in reply to JimM
    JimM:
    (spoken as a developer who's a few months into his first ASP.NET position and is less than enamoured of Microsoft's take on "web forms"...)
    My thoughts EXACTLY - especially 3rd party controls that have a BAD habit of not validating to the XHTML spec as required by ASP.NET 2.0...
  • Ur an Idiot (unregistered) in reply to NotASycophant

    The article said he had a wife stupid. RTFM

Leave a comment on “The CEO's Sycophant”

Log In or post as a guest

Replying to comment #:

Log Out

« Return to Article