Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • so thanks to #sqlfamily, now I have Louis Prima stuck in my head (sqlkaraoke question)...

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    How best to post your question[/url]
    How to post performance problems[/url]
    Tally Table:What it is and how it replaces a loop[/url]

    "stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."

  • Grant Fritchey (12/20/2013)


    WayneS (12/20/2013)


    I'm curious as to the different ways that you fine folks have seen / dealt with being on-call, and what you perceive the pros/cons of these are?

    For instance:

    on-call for a week at a time, rotating weeks.

    on-call for a day at a time, rotating days.

    etc.

    Thanks!

    On... Call... These words are confusing to me.

    Think in terms of variable off hours crisis, or unplanned extended workday.

    From my experience, the promise of comp time is usually been an empty promise.

    Week at a time, everyone has a better idea of who to contact.

    Although I have seen the con - someone implementing something big, but always when it's not their turn to be on call.

  • Greg Edwards-268690 (12/20/2013)


    Grant Fritchey (12/20/2013)


    WayneS (12/20/2013)


    I'm curious as to the different ways that you fine folks have seen / dealt with being on-call, and what you perceive the pros/cons of these are?

    For instance:

    on-call for a week at a time, rotating weeks.

    on-call for a day at a time, rotating days.

    etc.

    Thanks!

    On... Call... These words are confusing to me.

    Think in terms of variable off hours crisis, or unplanned extended workday.

    From my experience, the promise of comp time is usually been an empty promise.

    Week at a time, everyone has a better idea of who to contact.

    Although I have seen the con - someone implementing something big, but always when it's not their turn to be on call.

    Best rotation I had been on was at IHS when our group had 4 developers. We rotated from "4th" (i.e. NOT on call) to 3rd, 2nd, 1st one week each. As long as you weren't following Worthless Jan in the rotation (she never seemed to be available) it worked well. If you had a major change going live, you were automatically first on call when the changes moved (again, unless it was you know who had changes going live).

  • Grant Fritchey (12/20/2013)


    WayneS (12/20/2013)


    I'm curious as to the different ways that you fine folks have seen / dealt with being on-call, and what you perceive the pros/cons of these are?

    For instance:

    on-call for a week at a time, rotating weeks.

    on-call for a day at a time, rotating days.

    etc.

    Thanks!

    On... Call... These words are confusing to me.

    I have no idea what they mean either. :hehe:

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • GilaMonster (12/20/2013)


    Grant Fritchey (12/20/2013)


    WayneS (12/20/2013)


    I'm curious as to the different ways that you fine folks have seen / dealt with being on-call, and what you perceive the pros/cons of these are?

    For instance:

    on-call for a week at a time, rotating weeks.

    on-call for a day at a time, rotating days.

    etc.

    Thanks!

    On... Call... These words are confusing to me.

    I have no idea what they mean either. :hehe:

    Neither do I. There is something to being a BI guy. 😉

  • WayneS (12/20/2013)


    I'm curious as to the different ways that you fine folks have seen / dealt with being on-call, and what you perceive the pros/cons of these are?

    For instance:

    on-call for a week at a time, rotating weeks.

    on-call for a day at a time, rotating days.

    etc.

    Thanks!

    When I've been on a call rotation we've done it 2 ways:

    1. Week at time starting either Friday morning or Monday. This would be the one I would prefer

    2. A more random one that a boss together which was basically Mon-Th one week and then Fri-Sun the next time you were on call. He actually developed a point system Where weekdays had one value, weekends were more, and holidays were the most and he tried tot balance the points for each person in the dept. over the year. The problem with this was the odd change where you'd just get a holiday.

    I would hate a day at a time rotation and would think that would make vacations more difficult. I like the weekly rotation the best if I have to be on call.

  • Grant Fritchey (12/20/2013)


    WayneS (12/20/2013)


    I'm curious as to the different ways that you fine folks have seen / dealt with being on-call, and what you perceive the pros/cons of these are?

    For instance:

    on-call for a week at a time, rotating weeks.

    on-call for a day at a time, rotating days.

    etc.

    Thanks!

    On... Call... These words are confusing to me.

    Sure, rub it in. Wish I could retract my vote for who to have a beer with. CHose you because it can be fun and I've already done that with everyone on the list.

  • Jack Corbett (12/20/2013)


    WayneS (12/20/2013)


    I'm curious as to the different ways that you fine folks have seen / dealt with being on-call, and what you perceive the pros/cons of these are?

    For instance:

    on-call for a week at a time, rotating weeks.

    on-call for a day at a time, rotating days.

    etc.

    Thanks!

    When I've been on a call rotation we've done it 2 ways:

    1. Week at time starting either Friday morning or Monday. This would be the one I would prefer

    2. A more random one that a boss together which was basically Mon-Th one week and then Fri-Sun the next time you were on call. He actually developed a point system Where weekdays had one value, weekends were more, and holidays were the most and he tried tot balance the points for each person in the dept. over the year. The problem with this was the odd change where you'd just get a holiday.

    I would hate a day at a time rotation and would think that would make vacations more difficult. I like the weekly rotation the best if I have to be on call.

    At the bank we had a 4-week cycle. 1 week on standby (checking server/jobs at various times in the evening), 1 week secondary standby (available in case person on standby wasn't and something went wrong, also as support/additional help), two weeks not on standby. Roster planned out 4 weeks in advance. The weeks were Thurs-Wed, because Thursday was deployment day. The person doing the deployment on a Thursday evening was usually the secondary standby person.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • Revenant (12/20/2013)


    GilaMonster (12/20/2013)


    Grant Fritchey (12/20/2013)


    WayneS (12/20/2013)


    I'm curious as to the different ways that you fine folks have seen / dealt with being on-call, and what you perceive the pros/cons of these are?

    For instance:

    on-call for a week at a time, rotating weeks.

    on-call for a day at a time, rotating days.

    etc.

    Thanks!

    On... Call... These words are confusing to me.

    I have no idea what they mean either. :hehe:

    Neither do I. There is something to being a BI guy. 😉

    So you've never had to respond to a hung process or error in the middle of the night?

    Don't snicker too loudly, it could happen.

    We didn't have a schedule, but in the rare instance something broke, someone got a call.

  • Jack Corbett (12/20/2013)


    WayneS (12/20/2013)


    I'm curious as to the different ways that you fine folks have seen / dealt with being on-call, and what you perceive the pros/cons of these are?

    For instance:

    on-call for a week at a time, rotating weeks.

    on-call for a day at a time, rotating days.

    etc.

    Thanks!

    When I've been on a call rotation we've done it 2 ways:

    1. Week at time starting either Friday morning or Monday. This would be the one I would prefer

    2. A more random one that a boss together which was basically Mon-Th one week and then Fri-Sun the next time you were on call. He actually developed a point system Where weekdays had one value, weekends were more, and holidays were the most and he tried tot balance the points for each person in the dept. over the year. The problem with this was the odd change where you'd just get a holiday.

    I would hate a day at a time rotation and would think that would make vacations more difficult. I like the weekly rotation the best if I have to be on call.

    I agree. Week at a time.

    I think communications is easier. DBA hand-off is easier.

    I also think another benefit is that on a weekly rotation DBA's are less likely to just pawn something off on the next dba because they don't want to deal with it. If you have to deal with an issue every night, you will probably work a little harder to fix it so you have a quieter night the next night.

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
    _______________________________________________
    I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
    SQL RNNR
    Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
    Learn Extended Events

  • SQLRNNR (12/20/2013)


    Jack Corbett (12/20/2013)


    WayneS (12/20/2013)


    I'm curious as to the different ways that you fine folks have seen / dealt with being on-call, and what you perceive the pros/cons of these are?

    For instance:

    on-call for a week at a time, rotating weeks.

    on-call for a day at a time, rotating days.

    etc.

    Thanks!

    When I've been on a call rotation we've done it 2 ways:

    1. Week at time starting either Friday morning or Monday. This would be the one I would prefer

    2. A more random one that a boss together which was basically Mon-Th one week and then Fri-Sun the next time you were on call. He actually developed a point system Where weekdays had one value, weekends were more, and holidays were the most and he tried tot balance the points for each person in the dept. over the year. The problem with this was the odd change where you'd just get a holiday.

    I would hate a day at a time rotation and would think that would make vacations more difficult. I like the weekly rotation the best if I have to be on call.

    I agree. Week at a time.

    I think communications is easier. DBA hand-off is easier.

    I also think another benefit is that on a weekly rotation DBA's are less likely to just pawn something off on the next dba because they don't want to deal with it. If you have to deal with an issue every night, you will probably work a little harder to fix it so you have a quieter night the next night.

    When I was on call, it was a week at a time. BUT, my co-workers were so bad at it that at one point the boss said, "Who wants it?" Mine was the only hand to go up, so I was on call for about 8 years straight, no official hand-off to anyone, even when I was on vacation or camping with the scouts. I even did a few fixes on my phone from campsites.

    But weekly should work. Daily seems nuts. It's easier to plan "I'm at this week" rather than, "I think I'm on this day, did I count right?"

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • Grant Fritchey (12/20/2013)


    SQLRNNR (12/20/2013)


    Jack Corbett (12/20/2013)


    WayneS (12/20/2013)


    I'm curious as to the different ways that you fine folks have seen / dealt with being on-call, and what you perceive the pros/cons of these are?

    For instance:

    on-call for a week at a time, rotating weeks.

    on-call for a day at a time, rotating days.

    etc.

    Thanks!

    When I've been on a call rotation we've done it 2 ways:

    1. Week at time starting either Friday morning or Monday. This would be the one I would prefer

    2. A more random one that a boss together which was basically Mon-Th one week and then Fri-Sun the next time you were on call. He actually developed a point system Where weekdays had one value, weekends were more, and holidays were the most and he tried tot balance the points for each person in the dept. over the year. The problem with this was the odd change where you'd just get a holiday.

    I would hate a day at a time rotation and would think that would make vacations more difficult. I like the weekly rotation the best if I have to be on call.

    I agree. Week at a time.

    I think communications is easier. DBA hand-off is easier.

    I also think another benefit is that on a weekly rotation DBA's are less likely to just pawn something off on the next dba because they don't want to deal with it. If you have to deal with an issue every night, you will probably work a little harder to fix it so you have a quieter night the next night.

    When I was on call, it was a week at a time. BUT, my co-workers were so bad at it that at one point the boss said, "Who wants it?" Mine was the only hand to go up, so I was on call for about 8 years straight, no official hand-off to anyone, even when I was on vacation or camping with the scouts. I even did a few fixes on my phone from campsites.

    But weekly should work. Daily seems nuts. It's easier to plan "I'm at this week" rather than, "I think I'm on this day, did I count right?"

    Daily is nuts. I don't think you ever get the needed mental break from being oncall with the daily rotation.

    I have also done plenty of oncall 24x7x365 for about 8yrs as well. And frankly, daily rotation feels just like being oncall 24x7x366

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
    _______________________________________________
    I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
    SQL RNNR
    Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
    Learn Extended Events

  • SQLRNNR (12/20/2013)


    Grant Fritchey (12/20/2013)


    SQLRNNR (12/20/2013)


    Jack Corbett (12/20/2013)


    WayneS (12/20/2013)


    I'm curious as to the different ways that you fine folks have seen / dealt with being on-call, and what you perceive the pros/cons of these are?

    For instance:

    on-call for a week at a time, rotating weeks.

    on-call for a day at a time, rotating days.

    etc.

    Thanks!

    When I've been on a call rotation we've done it 2 ways:

    1. Week at time starting either Friday morning or Monday. This would be the one I would prefer

    2. A more random one that a boss together which was basically Mon-Th one week and then Fri-Sun the next time you were on call. He actually developed a point system Where weekdays had one value, weekends were more, and holidays were the most and he tried tot balance the points for each person in the dept. over the year. The problem with this was the odd change where you'd just get a holiday.

    I would hate a day at a time rotation and would think that would make vacations more difficult. I like the weekly rotation the best if I have to be on call.

    I agree. Week at a time.

    I think communications is easier. DBA hand-off is easier.

    I also think another benefit is that on a weekly rotation DBA's are less likely to just pawn something off on the next dba because they don't want to deal with it. If you have to deal with an issue every night, you will probably work a little harder to fix it so you have a quieter night the next night.

    When I was on call, it was a week at a time. BUT, my co-workers were so bad at it that at one point the boss said, "Who wants it?" Mine was the only hand to go up, so I was on call for about 8 years straight, no official hand-off to anyone, even when I was on vacation or camping with the scouts. I even did a few fixes on my phone from campsites.

    But weekly should work. Daily seems nuts. It's easier to plan "I'm at this week" rather than, "I think I'm on this day, did I count right?"

    Daily is nuts. I don't think you ever get the needed mental break from being oncall with the daily rotation.

    I have also done plenty of oncall 24x7x365 for about 8yrs as well. And frankly, daily rotation feels just like being oncall 24x7x366

    I like the weekly system as well. However, I have to admit that I'm intrigued by the whole point system. I'm definitely going to give that one some thought.

  • Does this get the weird question of the week award? http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1525137-391-1.aspx

    I believe the answer is "A SAN"

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • GilaMonster (12/20/2013)


    Does this get the weird question of the week award? http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1525137-391-1.aspx

    I believe the answer is "A SAN"

    Totally agree - this same question has been posted in 3 or 4 different places in the last day - likely the same person.

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