October 27, 2008 at 3:33 am
The strength of SSC is the prevailing atmosphere of professionals helping professionals, and mostly talking shop. Personalities emerge, but are secondary to the collective purpose, so people rarely wind each other up. As long as people are more interested in talking SQL Server than swapping baby stories or weak jokes, we should be OK.
October 27, 2008 at 5:28 am
Andy Leonard (10/25/2008)
Someone has an issue. They need help. I'm going to try to help.
:{> Andy
admirable attitude and one which should be one of the main rationale for all on line forums
~simon
October 27, 2008 at 7:39 am
I'd agree with Andy and Simon_L, help or ignore them, don't bash them.
And Andy has stars under his name!?!?!?! Might need to do something about that;)
October 27, 2008 at 8:12 am
Stephanie J Brown (10/26/2008)
Plus I find that often when I have an issue on my "event horizon", and answer or direction appears in the newsletter - so apparently I have good timing, or good karma, or something.
Actually, Steve's just psychic. Can't catch me though, I've got my tin-foil hat on!
---------------------------------------------------------
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."
October 27, 2008 at 8:13 am
ChrisPapps (10/26/2008)
I saw a signature on a forum (apologies to the person involved, I cannot remember where or when) but it could serve as a particularly cute candidate shibboleth for this site:Select * from users where clue > 0
where the suitable response is
0 rows returned.
🙂
Hmm, I think you'd probably take more bashing for SELECT * than accurate responses . . .
---------------------------------------------------------
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."
October 27, 2008 at 8:17 am
If you are posting answers to questions out on the forums (or, in my case, trying to), you have to be approaching it from a place of enlightened self-interest. Yes, you're helping people, but you're also testing your own knowledge regularly because, if you post something bad, people will correct you. If a question is intriguing, you'll do some research and learn something new. You'll see the other posters answers or adjustments to your answer. It's a giant learning laboratory and taking part is more beneficial than lurking (most of the time).
That doesn't even count the attraction of stars & nifty titles.
"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
October 27, 2008 at 8:22 am
And Andy has stars under his name!?!?!?! Might need to do something about that;)
LOL Steve,
I had some stars under my name at the MSDN forum. Not here!
:{> Andy
Andy Leonard, Chief Data Engineer, Enterprise Data & Analytics
October 27, 2008 at 8:39 am
I find I stay a way from sites that charge a fee for joining, which is one big reason I like SSC. I can get help here when I need it, and provide help when it is needed.
I have been involved in a couple of heated forum discussions, but overall the professionalism of those who visit here regularly is very high and adds to over all experience of the site.
October 27, 2008 at 8:41 am
I am at this time strictly a silent reader with a background in MS-Access use striving to learn SQL in order to grow and advance my value to our company. Until today I have had nothing intelligent to add, so I listen.
I take a moment today to respond to your request and to thank all the contributors for their time in providing well thought out, honest, professional, respectful and often thought provoking answers for those of us less experienced in the field. When I reach the point where I can respond at that level - you'll hear more from me.
Many of your solutions are valuable to consider; I don't see enough reason yet to enact any of the constrictions and prefer to run my own public group on a 3 strikes format, banning those who continue to disregard others after 2 private warnings, for a year.
Thanks again!
Deveri
October 27, 2008 at 9:13 am
SCC has been an invaluable resource for me, since I started pursuing SQL Server 2005 professionally, about 2 years ago. I began using SSC when I was preparing for my MCTS certicifation, and continue to use it on a very regular basis, as I approach my 1 year anniversary as a full-time DBA. I've often explained to my higher-ups that I've found solutions to our problems from a free online community, and they can't really believe it.
I'm always so pleasantly surprised at responses to messages that I post here on SCC. Almost without fail, responses are quick, insightful, professional and enlightening. I always try to be very courteous and grateful to people who post replies, just as I expect other to be courteous when I post replies to their posts. Thankfully (and as a credit to the people who run SCC) - this professional behaviour seems to preside.
In my opinion, the community here at SCC is a refreshing anomaly compared to others, where people talk brave and act like kids in kindergarten because they're speaking from behind their keyboards, and not face-to-face.
Hats off to SCC!
- Simon Doubt
October 27, 2008 at 9:17 am
Okay. Time to come out of the closet. I am an Oracleite, living in a SQL Server community. I make that claim to bolster my comment that I have found SSC, versus some Oracle sites, to be a greatly more pleasurable place to interact with other users. I have been amazed at the lack of condecension that I read in the responses, when I know in a different world there would be at least one flame. I still like Oracle more as a platform, but I have been greatly warmed to SQL Server by the people and content of this site, as well as more knowledge of SQL Server.
Good one on you!
<><
Livin' down on the cube farm. Left, left, then a right.
October 27, 2008 at 10:12 am
I'm a learker myself, having found this site a year ago when a solution was found via google search on the forums here.
The dementia ratio of users to loonies is very low on this site, so I think leaving things the way they are is fine for now, though I do see the value in looking ahead at how it might be a year or more from now.
My suggestion might be to limit un-registered users to read only (which I think you do here at SSC). And maybe post 5 questions per month for registered users (un limited responses to your own questions) and maybe 5 or 10 respones to other users questions. And finally a small annual fee for the whole site, with other content benifits that have monetary value and would make forum posting unlimited, but appear to be free relative to the value of the other content (or at least a bonus). I'm sure you guys could come up with a couple of small content enhancement for paid subscribers that would be token bennies individually, but lumped with full forum access would be an easy sell. (SWAG lottery sounds good to me, maybe a hidden RSS feed?)
Dan
October 27, 2008 at 10:20 am
Limiting the number of responses you can post to another users post limits the discuss that can occur with some questions/responses posted. You can learn a lot from these open discussions and they shouldn't be limited.
True, they sometimes go off topic as well, but for the most part the community tries to bring it back as well.
😎
October 27, 2008 at 10:35 am
Dan Guzman (10/27/2008)
And maybe post 5 questions per month for registered users (un limited responses to your own questions) and maybe 5 or 10 respones to other users questions. And finally a small annual fee for the whole site, with other content benifits that have monetary value and would make forum posting unlimited.
I can do 5-10 responses a day, easily.
One consideration around paying for the site is not so much how much as how. Paypal isn't worldwide and credit cards can be expensive for the site owner. Requiring payment doesn't just exclude the 13 year olds.
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
October 27, 2008 at 11:07 am
I agree that how can be an issue, and would certainly require consideration before anything is implemented. This is probably why we see other sites use a rating system for approval, and titles for 'Experts' and 'Gurus' and the like, so that the fee is really people contributing. A person who is rated by other users as an excellent contributor has more privilages than an low or un-rated contributor. I don't think that would work here because of the size of the user base, but it seems to work for sites like 'Experts-Exchange'
Also, perhaps instead of 5 to 10 responses, maybe unlimited posts to 5-10 other questions. If your such an avid user, that this doesn't cover it, then the small fee that includes other interesting content aimed at SQL gearheads would interest you/them.
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