View and vote on the article here: Ravn's Rants and Ravings - Coders
Ravn's Rants and Ravings - Coders| Category | | | Summary | | The Tech/Geek community is a lot like other groups. What I'm talking about today is the class system we geeks have. We've got hardware geeks, software geeks, coders, gamers, etc., and the list just goes on and on. Now, as a rule, humans like to classify a |
| | Body | The Tech/Geek community is a lot like other groups. What I'm talking about today is the class system we geeks have. We've got hardware geeks, software geeks, coders, gamers, etc., and the list just goes on and on. Now, as a rule, humans like to classify and label, so this is just fine and dandy. The problem, however, is that some groups get treated very differently than others. Coders, in particular, are affected by this.
Coders are a very valuable commodity. At least, good, honest, competent coders are. Because of this, coders are not treated the same way the rest of us are. They KNOW how important/valuable they are, and as such they expect to be exempt from the rules that the rest of us have to obey. I know this because I used to be a coder myself. Coders know that we can't afford to risk losing them, so they'll make all the trouble they want without having to worry about repercussions. I know I've read several forums where a few of the coders did or said things that would get anyone else banned.
Sure, some people stand up and say, "Hey, this isn't right!" However, their objections are usually quietly removed, smothered, or just ignored. Plus, the folks who do object are very rarely people with the power to actually do something about it. The people who run the show would NEVER speak out against their precious coders. The problem isn't just as simple as all this though. It goes much deeper.
Coders, as a rule, are in a very unique position. To do what they do, they need access to the code, and this generally comes with other high level access. So basically, coders are given the master key to the city. They can get in anywhere and do whatever they want. That means that if you make them mad, it's entirely possible that they can destroy all of your work, ban you, install backdoors in the code, or do whatever else they want to make you pay for whatever it is that you did to them! You would think that with such risks involved, coders would be VERY carefully chosen. However, once again, the scarcity of good coders makes this next to impossible. Frequently, there is little to no choice in who you take on. It's either this unknown/untested/untrusted coder or nothing.
This isn't the full extent of the problem either. You would think that with all I've mentioned, there couldn't possibly be MORE of a problem! But there is. You see, coders tend to feel that their work is far more important than anyone else's. As such, they expect - no, DEMAND - recognition for every tiny contribution they make, no matter how small and insignificant it is. Failure to do so will upset their delicate insecurities and result in sulking and probably threats to leave/quit. (I personally recommend allowing them to quit, but this rarely happens because of the aforementioned scarcity of coders.)
I think that this whole situation is horrid! I realize how difficult it is to find a good coder, truly I do (I've run communities dependent on them myself), but it simply will not stand to let them trample over the rest of the community. Your other members will quickly become upset/bitter/jaded at this disparity, and in the end you will lose more people because of your coders than you gain from the features they create for you. Set the same standards for ALL your members, no matter what their job is, and you will find you have created a much more pleasant environment for everyone.
Ravn |
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This article was imported from zZine. (original author: ravn)
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