Why is it assumed that the programmers are a company's smartest people?
I'm willing to bet that the average programmer, like the average everybody
else (like me, maybe) is a pretty ordinary guy doing what he can for a
paycheck and hoping to do as little as he has to (I hope I'm not quite
that bad). There are probably lots of them out there who dropped out of
or skipped college to make a fast buck in the internet boom, gained a
false sense of entitlement, and now have to be told how to manage their
time and jobs in a sensible manner because they never had to learn before.
I myself am sure that I have had days on which, if I had been my boss, I
would *not* have been impressed.
There are lots of programmers who are not innovative geniuses, who are not
entrepreneurial whiz kids, but who are ordinary people trained to solve
ordinary problems in a very specific way. Why would they need less
guidance than the guys who drive the forklifts in the warehouse? I've
known lots of programmers whose heads were on less straight than some
warehouse employees I've known.
I mean, it's the company's hardware, right? If the company gives me a
cash advance for a business trip, that doesn't mean I have a right to go
blow it all on beer and titty bars, right? What's the difference?
On Wed, 20 Jun 2001, Kristin A. Ruhle wrote:
> Eric Binary Anderson, programmer columnist for ENT Magazine is a Pointy
> Haired Boss. At least he openly advocated in his column that employers
> take fascist measures to keep their programmers (their SMARTEST People)
> productive by heavily restricting their use of non work related internet
> sites. If this happened to me (well if I WERE a programmer) I woudl
> immediatelhy QUIT. I would lead a whole sale revolt. Besides, programmers
> are the smartest users and theyll find a way to hack around it. This is
> INSULTING To the intelligence and high education of people who become
> programmers treating them like CHILDREN!!!!! Surfwatch Etc, Corporate
> Filtering is Fascist!!!
>
> I just sent him a totally flaming hate letter from a hotmail account
> threatening to tell people on something like Slashdot what an assheaded
> idea i think this is.
>
> KR
>
>
Marvin Long
Austin, Texas
