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Nishant Sivakumar wrote: I'd think people would spot that more easily than they would spot a sticky thread.
My personal experience suggests otherwise.
I suggested the sticky post feature eons ago for exactly that reason, but it was rejected. 
Cheers,
Vikram.
The cold will freeze our stares
We won't care...
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I agree that stickies might be useful. However, I also agree with what Nish said - the examples you give should really be sections in your article, not tacked on as an afterthought. Maybe a more compelling example would get this suggestion onto Chris's ToDo list.
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Hans Dietrich wrote: Maybe a more compelling example would get this suggestion onto Chris's ToDo list.
I think I've given it my best shot. All I can do is reiterate why I think stickies would be appropriate for the examples I've given. I'll go through them again:
"How to get answers to your questions"
Is this really something that should be in the article itself? Should an author address the problem of getting contacted privately regarding an article's content when it would be more appropriate if he/she was contacted through the message board? If so, I'll add a section to each of my articles stating it. It's an issue that needs to be addressed somewhere.
"Bug fixes"
Well, ideally an author doesn't get a lot of bug reports regarding their article and its code download, but it happens. Should an article update be sent in for every report and fix? Seems to me a sticky would be nice so that you could catalog them and eventually fix them in one update.
"Interim updates"
This is another one that seems perfect for a sticky to me. Currently, I'm in the process of rewriting one of my articles. It's taking some time, though; it's a long article and the new update represents a major change. However, I'm offering the updated code early so that users can get their hands on it in the meantime. I've posted this to my messageboard, but it's easy to miss because it's already got a couple threads above it.
"Faq" and "References" - well, here I can see how these would belong in the article. However, a sticky for these could be a work in progress. Something that an author can work on between updates and get feedback on. Eventually they'd find their way into an article.
I don't know what else to say. If this change represents a major inconvenience as far as implementing it, then I can totally understand that. But if not, I see no reason why authors shouldn't have this feature.
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I have reconsidered this, and I now strongly recommend that this suggestion should be implemented, for two reasons:
1. it gives authors (and I'm assuming only authors will be able to create sticky posts for their articles) more control and better communication with the readers.
2. in some situations there is no substitute. Example: suppose your article's code depends on a third-party library, like boost. If you discover that a new release of the library breaks your code, you want to communicate that as quickly as possible, and let people know that you are working on a fix, work-around, etc., and when you expect to have a solution. In this case. a regular post might not be noticed, and of course is subject to scrolling.
Thanks for your persistence!
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Hans Dietrich wrote: Thanks for your persistence!
You're welcome! And thank you for considering my viewpoint. You've made my day. 
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Remove the email link in every message that's posted. I'm not saying remove it entirely, just not on every message that's posted. We can still have the email link in the users profiles. This should cut down on the "unsolicited" emails we all keep getting from people who feel the need to suddenly move the discussions off the forums.
Dave Kreskowiak
Microsoft MVP - Visual Basic
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Well if you werent so darn helpful you wouldnt have that problem! 
CleaKO
"I think you'll be okay here, they have a thin candy shell. 'Surprised you didn't know that.'" - Tommy (Tommy Boy)
"Fill it up again! Fill it up again! Once it hits your lips, it's so good!" - Frank the Tank (Old School)
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Dave Kreskowiak wrote: We can still have the email link in the users profiles. This should cut down on the "unsolicited" emails we all keep getting from people who feel the need to suddenly move the discussions off the forums.
Oddly enough, it didn't. There once was an "email this author" link in the profile...
----
It appears that everybody is under the impression that I approve of the documentation. You probably also blame Ken Burns for supporting slavery.
--Raymond Chen on MSDN
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Shog9 wrote: Oddly enough, it didn't.
It's got to be a cultural thing. Guess where 95% of those emails are comming from...
Dave Kreskowiak
Microsoft MVP - Visual Basic
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Are you ever referred to as "dear"? 
----
It appears that everybody is under the impression that I approve of the documentation. You probably also blame Ken Burns for supporting slavery.
--Raymond Chen on MSDN
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Shog9 wrote: Are you ever referred to as "dear"?
While I admit that that's the gayest possible way to address a guy, how many people here know how to address someone in Hindi or Malayalam? 
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Nishant Sivakumar wrote: While I admit that that's the gayest possible way to address a guy, how many people here know how to address someone in Hindi or Malayalam?
Actually, "honey" is worse. But yeah, you make a good point.
...so, what's dear in malayalam...
----
It appears that everybody is under the impression that I approve of the documentation. You probably also blame Ken Burns for supporting slavery.
--Raymond Chen on MSDN
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I dont but "dear" is still creepy!!!
CleaKO
"I think you'll be okay here, they have a thin candy shell. 'Surprised you didn't know that.'" - Tommy (Tommy Boy)
"Fill it up again! Fill it up again! Once it hits your lips, it's so good!" - Frank the Tank (Old School)
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Think back to before email became ubiquitous. The standard business letter greeting was Dear Sir or Madam. Obviously the intro to business English books at a number of Indian tech schools are out of date. I'm sure you've had the pleasure of using obsolete books more than once before at school.
--
CleaKO The sad part about this instance is that none of the users ever said anything [about the problem].
Pete O`Hanlon Doesn't that just tell you everything you need to know about users?
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dan neely wrote: Think back to before email became ubiquitous. The standard business letter greeting was Dear Sir or Madam. Obviously the intro to business English books at a number of Indian tech schools are out of date. I'm sure you've had the pleasure of using obsolete books more than once before at school.
You are correct that Dear Sir or Madam was/is correct when addressing someone in a letter but to refer to someone as hello dears is different.
CleaKO
"I think you'll be okay here, they have a thin candy shell. 'Surprised you didn't know that.'" - Tommy (Tommy Boy)
"Fill it up again! Fill it up again! Once it hits your lips, it's so good!" - Frank the Tank (Old School)
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Nishant Sivakumar wrote: While I admit that that's the gayest possible way to address a guy
Hmmm...I would hazard a guess and say no it's not. Unless there's more to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson than we ever read about. 
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Why yes. Many, many times! 
Dave Kreskowiak
Microsoft MVP - Visual Basic
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Smile: A curve that can set a lot of things straight!
(\ /)
(O.o)
(><)
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Dave Kreskowiak wrote: It's got to be a cultural thing. Guess where 95% of those emails are comming from...
It's definitely not a culture thing. It's just a reflection of the fact that there are abundant job opportunities in this specific country and not enough quality candidates. So what happens very often is that unsuitable and ignorant candidates get programming jobs, and it's this category of people who resort to impolite posting practices.
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Very true. Since most of the jobs went to, what amounts to, a single culture, it's no surprise.
Dave Kreskowiak
Microsoft MVP - Visual Basic
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Dave Kreskowiak wrote: Since most of the jobs went to, what amounts to, a single culture, it's no surprise.
Yes. The majority of Indians posting dumb questions and being rude on public forums belong to a sub-culture of people who get into a software job solely because there are so many available openings (and not because they have any serious interest in programming or computers).
But it still hurts when this sub-culture is generalized and their actions associated with the whole country.
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The same thing happens with every group; the idiots are more visible than the other 90 some odd precent that have a clue combined. Most Americans know that speaking loudly and slowly won't magically allow a non English speaker to guess what we're trying to saw in English. The stereotype that most people think of when given the phrase American tourist is the idiot who tries that.
--
CleaKO The sad part about this instance is that none of the users ever said anything [about the problem].
Pete O`Hanlon Doesn't that just tell you everything you need to know about users?
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Are the majority of Indian developers poorly qualified or are the majority of skilled Indian developers simply very quiet?
Cutting aside all political correctness it seems that the majority of Indian developers are vastly underqualified. I've got nothing other than the hundreds of emails a day I recieve and the messages I see posted on the board to base this on but it seems a reasonable assumption.
Are we seeing a bit of a bubble effect here?
1. Once upon a time the average software house in India provided excellent and cheap work
2. There was a massive influx of work into India and the universities couldn't keep up with demand
3. Jobs were still being awarded based on perceived value and quality
4. The output of software houses diluted by poor talent will cause a backlash from overseas customers due to the substandard work
5. Jobs will no longer go to India and there will be a massive over-supply of substandard developers.
Seems awfully like the rest of the world back in 2000. I really hope for India's sake they look at the lessons we went through 7 years ago and make some quick changes. Actually I hope Indian developers take control of their own future and work to improve whatever deficits may be in their skillset due to rushed training. It will be a cut-throat world there very soon, I'm guessing.
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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I agree completely. I wasn't trying to be non-PC because, admittedly, my view of the India talent pool is very narrow, comming solely from a few developer support forums. Using only this view, it would appear that the pool is leaning heavily towards the unskilled side, on the order of, in my less-than-scientific-estimate, 30 to 1. (Nish is, of course, skewing the grading curve quite a bit!  )
I'm not trying the bash India at all. Because of the points you brought up, it appears that India is actually losing some jobs to other countries like Vietnam, China, and Russia. I don't think the developers in India have any kind of control over their own future because American companies have a habit of looking only at short-term profits and will ship the jobs they want done now to anyone with any kind of experience for the cheapest rate possible.
Dave Kreskowiak
Microsoft MVP - Visual Basic
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Nishant Sivakumar wrote: The majority of Indians posting dumb questions and being rude on public forums belong to a sub-culture of people who get into a software job solely because there are so many available openings (and not because they have any serious interest in programming or computers).
I will have to say I agree with this. I think many people do this even here in the US so it isnt necessarily an Indian thing.
I think that many problems arise when combining culture though, when you have a lazy American, and Im American, I feel like I can say something or confront them or go to management about them. On the other hand when the person is from Asia (or any other country, Asia just has such a different cultural setup than the US) then it is more difficult to say anything and the resentments can grow and be placed upon innocent people just for the sake of their nationality.
CleaKO
"I think you'll be okay here, they have a thin candy shell. 'Surprised you didn't know that.'" - Tommy (Tommy Boy)
"Fill it up again! Fill it up again! Once it hits your lips, it's so good!" - Frank the Tank (Old School)
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