Re: What is the maximal length of usernames on Solaris?

From: Richard L. Hamilton (rlhamil_at_mindwarp.smart.net)
Date: 12/29/03 

Date: Mon, 29 Dec 2003 08:42:58 -0000

In article <l56vuv4sscr2604gk0js52pgn5g97e5qjo@4ax.com>,
        Josh McKee <jtmckee@rm-bogus-ac.net> writes:
> On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 02:10:27 -0000,
> Richard.L.Hamilton@mindwarp.smart.net (Richard L. Hamilton) wrote:
[...]
>>I did that 'cause I saw one of the Sun guys doing it and was curious how
>>they did it, not that I care whether it looks better, or is easier for
>>anyone to remember, or type, or whatever.
>
> Then go back to using your user ID instead. There's less overhead on
> the system.

Hey, my system, WTF overhead? But no problem, it's changed back. (still
works either way incoming so's not to break anything I haven't bothered to
check for, won't rewrite it on the way out anymore; that's two different
things anyway. That's to make the point. I may change it back; then
again, I may not; if I stop using two different but equivalent email
addresses on Usenet, presumably I'll stop getting two copies of some of
the spams my filters don't catch.)

> Not at all. I am specifically referencing wants because the customers
> wants are important. It's not your position, or mine, to determine
> what is most important to the user. It's theirs. And if we tell them
> enough times that their wants are unimportant then they'll go to
> someone who will provide for their wants. Period.

As an abstract concept, that's sweet. In the real world, there's plenty
of times I'd be willing to tell them why I thought (to be polite) they
might wish to readjust their priorities, and, if only as a last resort,
ignore them to the extent need to keep things working smoothly. I think
that like a doctor, "first, do no harm" at least sometimes takes
precedence over "let the customer determine what's important to them".
I think there are occasions where there's room for (and even a need for)
responsible discretion to be excercised in such matters.

Users (customers) do three things:

* they ask for stuff

* they break things

* one way or the other, internal or external, without any customers,
  we wouldn't be getting paid

There's definitely _some_ connection between how we deal with the first
two and the third, but I maintain that there's definitely some room for
discretion too (and that a high degree of responsiveness to the first one
isn't the majority or probably even the plurality reason for MS's
financial success). I also maintain that there are plenty of times when
what the user _thinks_ they want isn't what they'd want if you walked them
through the ramifications, and there are some times when it's best not to
unhesitatingly give them what they want even if you haven't had (or given
sufficient prior similar examples providing experience and precedent on
which to draw on, taken) the opportunity to indulge them with the
opportunity to hear such an explanation. Like anything else in the real
world, there are bound to be some exceptions, but there's a certain amount
of wiggle room most of the time. It shouldn't be used lightly or
arbitrarily, but it shouldn't be ignored under the illusion of operating
according to some higher market-based principle, even though such
principles do have some meaning. In the case of your item in question,
their request should be given nonzero consideration and service. But not
much compared to most other requests or forseeable anticipations of
requests. And numbers of requests alone, although they provide guidance,
don't dictate priorities absolutely. A request with an explanation,
compared to the explanations known or reasonably presumed for other
requests, counts for more than an unjustified request, other factors being
equal. And there may be plenty of reasons to allocate resources to
activities not directly related to user requests that they don't know
about, and unless your satisfaction rate (a nontrivial metric but not a
dictatorial absolute) drops low enough to set off alarms, don't _need_ to
know about.

I don't care in the slightest if you, or anyone that isn't more or less
directly responsible for _my_ salary, thinks that's arrogant, or
unrealistic, or anything else.

I also don't particularly care if most people think me anywhere from
undiplomatically blunt to self-destructively rude and presumptious in
regarding unknown persons as no better than they've proven themselves to
be, even though I might not tell them that to their face. In my
experience, while I don't want to be utterly unapproachable, I don't want
to be _too_ approachable either.

I'm getting too approachable here...I think I'm going to get some sleep. 

-- 
mailto:rlhamil@smart.net  http://www.smart.net/~rlhamil

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