Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • Steve Jones - SSC Editor (7/25/2012)


    Since Mr. Moden posted his note, I added this issue to our weekly meeting this week. We have warned Mr Celko a few times in the last few months. Quite a few of the posts reported have been short or rude, but they've been on topic. However the post from Jeff's note today, and a few others, have been off topic and unprofessional.

    We've decided to issue a formal, strongly worded warning. After that, I will ban future posts from Mr. Celko.

    Guess I have some code to get ready now 🙁

    I hate doing this type of thing.

    Thanks for the feedback, Steve. I also appreciate the pain this type of thing causes you.

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • Jeff Moden (7/25/2012)


    Please join me in reporting this and all other posts of this nature by this person. This has got to stop. If anyone of us made such regular ad hominem and vicious attacks, we'd be banned from this site for life.

    http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/FindPost1335109.aspx

    I'd talk more about it but I'm busy removing his name and all references to any of his books from all of my presentation materials. I can also guarantee you that I'll never attend one of his presentations nor ever read one of his articles ever again.

    Aw shucks! I missed it!

    Deleted before I could fill my day with mirth.


    My mantra: No loops! No CURSORs! No RBAR! Hoo-uh![/I]

    My thought question: Have you ever been told that your query runs too fast?

    My advice:
    INDEXing a poor-performing query is like putting sugar on cat food. Yeah, it probably tastes better but are you sure you want to eat it?
    The path of least resistance can be a slippery slope. Take care that fixing your fixes of fixes doesn't snowball and end up costing you more than fixing the root cause would have in the first place.

    Need to UNPIVOT? Why not CROSS APPLY VALUES instead?[/url]
    Since random numbers are too important to be left to chance, let's generate some![/url]
    Learn to understand recursive CTEs by example.[/url]
    [url url=http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/St

  • dwain.c (7/25/2012)


    Jeff Moden (7/25/2012)


    Please join me in reporting this and all other posts of this nature by this person. This has got to stop. If anyone of us made such regular ad hominem and vicious attacks, we'd be banned from this site for life.

    http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/FindPost1335109.aspx

    I'd talk more about it but I'm busy removing his name and all references to any of his books from all of my presentation materials. I can also guarantee you that I'll never attend one of his presentations nor ever read one of his articles ever again.

    Aw shucks! I missed it!

    Deleted before I could fill my day with mirth.

    Does this make you feel better?

    SET @Snark = ON

    First of all, Mr. Server, you are not allowed to report to Microsoft whenever you want. That's not proper security standards, wandering off and sharing information whenever you feel like it. Most companies have NDAs for a reason. You should not be running at all hours of the night, and creating tokens is just stupid. Don't you know that tokens are a violation of the XYZ Standards? And taking advice from that connection in Dubai is just ludicrous. Haven't you ever read a book on proper server behavior?

    Batches are not used anymore. They have been deprecated since the advent of the ACID standard. You should be using transactions, not batches. Command line prompts are also no longer supported. You should be burying your work inside a dll and kernel, not allowing user interaction. User interaction is bad. It opens up your systems to attacks and viruses.

    I don't even know why I'm trying to help you if you can't even get a simple error message right.

    SET @Snark = OFF

    Better?

    Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

  • Nice one Brandie. That made me smile.

    It is a real pity that he feels this is the right persona to use on forums.

    I'm glad that as a complete newbie (i might add that ship sailed at least 12 years ago!) I never had one of my first questions answered by him in that tone. Think I would have changed jobs!

    Rodders...

  • OMG. This is so appropriate for us:

    http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2012-07-26/[/url]

    Tell true, Threadzians. How many of you fell into this trap?

    Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

  • Brandie Tarvin (7/26/2012)


    dwain.c (7/25/2012)


    Jeff Moden (7/25/2012)


    Please join me in reporting this and all other posts of this nature by this person. This has got to stop. If anyone of us made such regular ad hominem and vicious attacks, we'd be banned from this site for life.

    http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/FindPost1335109.aspx

    I'd talk more about it but I'm busy removing his name and all references to any of his books from all of my presentation materials. I can also guarantee you that I'll never attend one of his presentations nor ever read one of his articles ever again.

    Aw shucks! I missed it!

    Deleted before I could fill my day with mirth.

    Does this make you feel better?

    SET @Snark = ON

    First of all, Mr. Server, you are not allowed to report to Microsoft whenever you want. That's not proper security standards, wandering off and sharing information whenever you feel like it. Most companies have NDAs for a reason. You should not be running at all hours of the night, and creating tokens is just stupid. Don't you know that tokens are a violation of the XYZ Standards? And taking advice from that connection in Dubai is just ludicrous. Haven't you ever read a book on proper server behavior?

    Batches are not used anymore. They have been deprecated since the advent of the ACID standard. You should be using transactions, not batches. Command line prompts are also no longer supported. You should be burying your work inside a dll and kernel, not allowing user interaction. User interaction is bad. It opens up your systems to attacks and viruses.

    I don't even know why I'm trying to help you if you can't even get a simple error message right.

    SET @Snark = OFF

    Better?

    Brandie, I love you. 🙂 Thank you for starting my day with a smile.

    You had me dying of laughter - particularly the batch part. We had a NoSQL/SQL eventual consistency vs ACID discussion here yesterday around an interface we're working on between two of our systems that fits this rant perfectly.

    Just after I was running yet another install where I got to say "no, you can't randomly send information to your maker, I don't care, you're mine now, not theirs..."

    -Ki

  • Brandie Tarvin (7/26/2012)


    dwain.c (7/25/2012)


    Jeff Moden (7/25/2012)


    Please join me in reporting this and all other posts of this nature by this person. This has got to stop. If anyone of us made such regular ad hominem and vicious attacks, we'd be banned from this site for life.

    http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/FindPost1335109.aspx

    I'd talk more about it but I'm busy removing his name and all references to any of his books from all of my presentation materials. I can also guarantee you that I'll never attend one of his presentations nor ever read one of his articles ever again.

    Aw shucks! I missed it!

    Deleted before I could fill my day with mirth.

    Does this make you feel better?

    SET @Snark = ON

    First of all, Mr. Server, you are not allowed to report to Microsoft whenever you want. That's not proper security standards, wandering off and sharing information whenever you feel like it. Most companies have NDAs for a reason. You should not be running at all hours of the night, and creating tokens is just stupid. Don't you know that tokens are a violation of the XYZ Standards? And taking advice from that connection in Dubai is just ludicrous. Haven't you ever read a book on proper server behavior?

    Batches are not used anymore. They have been deprecated since the advent of the ACID standard. You should be using transactions, not batches. Command line prompts are also no longer supported. You should be burying your work inside a dll and kernel, not allowing user interaction. User interaction is bad. It opens up your systems to attacks and viruses.

    I don't even know why I'm trying to help you if you can't even get a simple error message right.

    SET @Snark = OFF

    Better?

    Sad that this wasn't mean enough to be truly accurate.

    --------------------------------------
    When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
    --------------------------------------
    It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
    What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
    You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams

  • Here's a chuckle for you security types out there. I was trying reset my security questions today on the ADP site because apparently the available questions change from time to time and two of mine were no longer eligible. this meant I couldn't recover my password. I managed to get our HR department to reset my password. This of course meant I also had to change my security questions. So far this all sounds pretty typical. This is where I nearly peed myself.

    I chose to put in a response for "What is the first and last name of your father's father? (Paternal Grandfather)". I proceeded to type in his name. It immediately gave me a validation error that said "Security answer cannot contain the user's last name".

    How many people don't share a last name with their PATERNAL grandfather? Only unmarried women, or those that chose not to take their husband's last name. And people wonder why we get some *$&#ing frustrated with website security. :w00t:

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • Sean Lange (7/26/2012)


    Here's a chuckle for you security types out there. I was trying reset my security questions today on the ADP site because apparently the available questions change from time to time and two of mine were no longer eligible. this meant I couldn't recover my password. I managed to get our HR department to reset my password. This of course meant I also had to change my security questions. So far this all sounds pretty typical. This is where I nearly peed myself.

    I chose to put in a response for "What is the first and last name of your father's father? (Paternal Grandfather)". I proceeded to type in his name. It immediately gave me a validation error that said "Security answer cannot contain the user's last name".

    How many people don't share a last name with their PATERNAL grandfather? Only unmarried women, or those that chose not to take their husband's last name. And people wonder why we get some *$&#ing frustrated with website security. :w00t:

    Just make the last name "You know, that guy"

    It is amazing to me not only how poorly thought out much security is, but that even giant companies like Microsoft don't bother keeping up to date on what is thought to make a truly secure password.

    --------------------------------------
    When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
    --------------------------------------
    It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
    What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
    You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams

  • You'll might find this interesting: http://www.sqlperformance.com/2012/07/t-sql-queries/split-strings

    Wayne
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
    Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes


    If you can't explain to another person how the code that you're copying from the internet works, then DON'T USE IT on a production system! After all, you will be the one supporting it!
    Links:
    For better assistance in answering your questions
    Performance Problems
    Common date/time routines
    Understanding and Using APPLY Part 1 & Part 2

  • Stefan Krzywicki (7/26/2012)


    Sean Lange (7/26/2012)


    Here's a chuckle for you security types out there. I was trying reset my security questions today on the ADP site because apparently the available questions change from time to time and two of mine were no longer eligible. this meant I couldn't recover my password. I managed to get our HR department to reset my password. This of course meant I also had to change my security questions. So far this all sounds pretty typical. This is where I nearly peed myself.

    I chose to put in a response for "What is the first and last name of your father's father? (Paternal Grandfather)". I proceeded to type in his name. It immediately gave me a validation error that said "Security answer cannot contain the user's last name".

    How many people don't share a last name with their PATERNAL grandfather? Only unmarried women, or those that chose not to take their husband's last name. And people wonder why we get some *$&#ing frustrated with website security. :w00t:

    Just make the last name "You know, that guy"

    It is amazing to me not only how poorly thought out much security is, but that even giant companies like Microsoft don't bother keeping up to date on what is thought to make a truly secure password.

    I almost never have to login to the ADP site so it is always a challenge. I don't bother to add the password to my keyring because I use it so infrequently. I have been at this job for 4 years and this might be the second time since I started. I just needed to get my last two pay stubs for our refinance on the house. What a total PITA that was.

    Next time I will not even try to unlock my password and just go straight to them and ask them to reset it for me. When all was said and done it turns out that passwords expire every so often. While that is great for security it sucks for very infrequent users.

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • Brandie Tarvin (7/26/2012)


    OMG. This is so appropriate for us:

    http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2012-07-26/[/url]

    Tell true, Threadzians. How many of you fell into this trap?

    /Raises hand

    Although at least I wasn't a tech writer...

  • WayneS (7/26/2012)


    You'll might find this interesting: http://www.sqlperformance.com/2012/07/t-sql-queries/split-strings

    Very interesting. Thanks, Wayne.

    “Write the query the simplest way. If through testing it becomes clear that the performance is inadequate, consider alternative query forms.” - Gail Shaw

    For fast, accurate and documented assistance in answering your questions, please read this article.
    Understanding and using APPLY, (I) and (II) Paul White
    Hidden RBAR: Triangular Joins / The "Numbers" or "Tally" Table: What it is and how it replaces a loop Jeff Moden

  • Sean Lange (7/26/2012)


    Stefan Krzywicki (7/26/2012)


    Sean Lange (7/26/2012)


    Here's a chuckle for you security types out there. I was trying reset my security questions today on the ADP site because apparently the available questions change from time to time and two of mine were no longer eligible. this meant I couldn't recover my password. I managed to get our HR department to reset my password. This of course meant I also had to change my security questions. So far this all sounds pretty typical. This is where I nearly peed myself.

    I chose to put in a response for "What is the first and last name of your father's father? (Paternal Grandfather)". I proceeded to type in his name. It immediately gave me a validation error that said "Security answer cannot contain the user's last name".

    How many people don't share a last name with their PATERNAL grandfather? Only unmarried women, or those that chose not to take their husband's last name. And people wonder why we get some *$&#ing frustrated with website security. :w00t:

    Just make the last name "You know, that guy"

    It is amazing to me not only how poorly thought out much security is, but that even giant companies like Microsoft don't bother keeping up to date on what is thought to make a truly secure password.

    I almost never have to login to the ADP site so it is always a challenge. I don't bother to add the password to my keyring because I use it so infrequently. I have been at this job for 4 years and this might be the second time since I started. I just needed to get my last two pay stubs for our refinance on the house. What a total PITA that was.

    Next time I will not even try to unlock my password and just go straight to them and ask them to reset it for me. When all was said and done it turns out that passwords expire every so often. While that is great for security it sucks for very infrequent users.

    It actually isn't great for security, partly for the reason you mention. Passwords are so prevalent in society today that many people end up using the same few for everything or forget them and write them down in insecure ways. If a password never expires, it is no easier to crack and is much easier to remember.

    --------------------------------------
    When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
    --------------------------------------
    It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
    What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
    You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams

  • Stefan Krzywicki (7/26/2012)


    Sean Lange (7/26/2012)


    Stefan Krzywicki (7/26/2012)


    Sean Lange (7/26/2012)


    Here's a chuckle for you security types out there. I was trying reset my security questions today on the ADP site because apparently the available questions change from time to time and two of mine were no longer eligible. this meant I couldn't recover my password. I managed to get our HR department to reset my password. This of course meant I also had to change my security questions. So far this all sounds pretty typical. This is where I nearly peed myself.

    I chose to put in a response for "What is the first and last name of your father's father? (Paternal Grandfather)". I proceeded to type in his name. It immediately gave me a validation error that said "Security answer cannot contain the user's last name".

    How many people don't share a last name with their PATERNAL grandfather? Only unmarried women, or those that chose not to take their husband's last name. And people wonder why we get some *$&#ing frustrated with website security. :w00t:

    Just make the last name "You know, that guy"

    It is amazing to me not only how poorly thought out much security is, but that even giant companies like Microsoft don't bother keeping up to date on what is thought to make a truly secure password.

    I almost never have to login to the ADP site so it is always a challenge. I don't bother to add the password to my keyring because I use it so infrequently. I have been at this job for 4 years and this might be the second time since I started. I just needed to get my last two pay stubs for our refinance on the house. What a total PITA that was.

    Next time I will not even try to unlock my password and just go straight to them and ask them to reset it for me. When all was said and done it turns out that passwords expire every so often. While that is great for security it sucks for very infrequent users.

    It actually isn't great for security, partly for the reason you mention. Passwords are so prevalent in society today that many people end up using the same few for everything or forget them and write them down in insecure ways. If a password never expires, it is no easier to crack and is much easier to remember.

    Even funnier is that when I used the temporary password to gain access and then it appropriately forced me to set a new password. It will not allow to use a password that has ever been used in the past. This is a bit of a pita but not the end of the world. What did suck though was that the form was center screen and the error message was about 6pt font in the upper left by the logo. It took me about 10 tries before I actually noticed it.

    When all was said and done it took me over 90 minutes to view my last two pay stubs using the "convenience" of a website.

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

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