October 2, 2007 at 11:30 am
I know that as an author I'm technically ineligible but I figured I'd share what I've gotten out of this site.
I'm largely self-taught. I found SSC early in my career and farmed the forums, scripts and articles for how-to's and better ways of doing things. After a few years I discovered I was pretty good at what I did. I started commenting on questions in the forums and got pretty good feedback about what I had to say. I went on to write two articles, both of which have been great learning experiences for me and have been well-recieved on this site. It's been great to kind of "grow up" around here in terms of both my career and my own level of expertise.
October 2, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Great Content, cutting edge solutions, knowledgeable and helpfull members. Its a complete resource center for everything about SQL Server for advanced SQL Server users to novices.
October 2, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Thanks to SQLServerCentral.com I can lie, cheat, and steal.
I lie around the site, soaking up information by reading articles, scripts, challenges, etc.
I cheat the future by reading about issues others have encountered, thereby being more prepared when I myself encounter those same (or similar) problems.
I steal incredibly handy logic and ingenious solutions that other users present.
The last part is my favorite ā I love to see how different people approach and handle the issues, problems, conundrums, and challenges that are posed to the forums. Iām always open to attacking a problem from a different angle, and sometimes that angle is one I had never before seen.
--SF
Kindest Regards,
--SF
(SELECT COALESCE(Phlogiston,Caloric,DarkMatter) as Construct FROM Science.dbo.Theory)
October 2, 2007 at 1:00 pm
The Fledgling SQL Developer
Once upon a time, there was a fledgling SQL developer. He was alone in his small-company world and wondered when he would ever find someone to whom he could say "my INNER JOIN is causing duplicate records" without hearing "you're such a geek" in return. He searched high and low for anyone who could understand his life. Give him meaning. Help him feel like he had a connection in this world.
He got no love from the published authors. The cold, sharp pages of the "for Dummies" books were too simple for him. The weighty, 8-point-fonted tomes of the "for expert" books caused him to think "these guys are such geeks".
He was not sustained by Mr. Bill's newsgroups. From "sql.server.WhatThe.Heck.NewsGroup.ShouldI.PostTo" to the snobs that ridiculed him for questions that were either (in their estimation) too simple or that had been "answered way too many times already", he felt like a square peg being squeezed into a round hole.
He had given up all hope. But one day a passing SQL hermit, name never given, told him about a land where questions were never too "simple". Where everyone and noone was "such a geek". Where forums had names that actually made sense. He had finally found a home.
It was run by a company that, though it made money selling products, was truly interested in helping SQL developers ply their trade. He received daily emails that actually contained helpful information, rather than forcing you to click through a dozen advertisements to get to a request for a sales call. It was just an added bonus that the tools developed by that company really provided added value.
He finally felt he had found a place that allowed him to be just what he was -- A fledgling SQL developer looking to improve his skills without fighting useless fights.
The End
October 2, 2007 at 1:04 pm
There are some great stories posted so far. It is pretty amazing to get a glimpse into the lives of others who read SSC every day.
My story isn't too different from others. I have worked on the fringe of SQL for years and in the last year I moved back to my home town and took up a DBA position. I've never considered myself a guru at SQL, but I thought I was going to have no problems managing a handful of servers and 20-30 databases. As we all know that first splash of cold water to the ego isn't very pleasant. The work is much more challenging than I ever considered and the amount of resources for help were very limited.
SSC isn't the answer to everything, but it has helped me with many problems and more than anything else it has giving me a place to find growth. As a new DBA it is a little daunting to look for places which help me understand not only how to do my job but really what I should be doing. The daily emails are the start of my morning (that and a nice cup of coffee) and I think they put me in the right place to start my day.
Regardless - Thank you to SSC for the great content and everyone else for all the help. Even if I didn't ask the question - reading others problems and solutions is very beneficial and I hope you realize how much we appreciate it.
Thanks and here's to many more years!
-Zap Riecken
October 2, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Steve,
I've been a member for quite a while now and have seen this site go through many changes. The best part of all is that the changes really haven't impacted the site. I know I can get answers at other tech sites for SQL Server, but this site also provides 'training'. How? Well there is the Question of the Day, articles, and even books for us to learn from. I have not found another site that provides all that. You are also the 'constant' with this site. I have never found you to not be willing to listen to our gripes and issues. You may not be able to resolve them, but you always respond to us. And while I have only been able to take advantage of it once, the site aids us with registering for PASS each year. Then you give an awesome party for those of us that can make it. I just wish I could make it every year, even if it it was just for the SQL Server Central get together.
So win or lose with the prizes, I'm still a winner with this site. I just wish I could use it as much as I have in the past, but my new job has been keeping me extremely busy.
P.S. I'm liking the new site format.
-SQLBill
October 2, 2007 at 1:25 pm
SQL Server Central was referred to me by a contractor a couple of years ago as a key site for Database entrepreneurs (DBA's, DBD's, DWA's, etc.) alike. This site assists those from the associate level to the expert level in becoming a skilled Database craftsman in this ever changing world of IT. This site provides powerful information and references covering advance topics on the entire gambit of administrating, implementing, developing and managing MS SQL Databases and tool sets (SSIS, OLAP, 3rd party tools). This site is viewed on a daily basis by our team as a key reference to updating our skills and introducing us to new topics. Forever live SQL Server Central and thanks to all the contributors for such a great websites!
Sincerely,
Scott
MCSE, MCDBA, Network+, ECMP, EDP
Senior Programmer Analyst
SAP NetWeaver Application Administrator
October 2, 2007 at 2:41 pm
When I have a SQL question one of my DBAs can't answer (or they're not around), SQL Server Central is the first place I come. I've always gotten a quick response. Mostly, I like the way the community comes together to discuss issues but only rarely diverges into "Well, you're an idiot..." type ad hominem attacks. (Or maybe the site's just really well-moderated and self-policing and we don't see the nasties here!)
Keep up the great work. I could really use the iPod for my wife's birthday in about two weeks. š
October 2, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Most of us just try to control ourselves... this is where most of the moderation comes from :)... That and Steve of course, when things get too much out of hand.
October 2, 2007 at 3:11 pm
SQL Server Central has helped me tremendously. I am not a DBA by trade. I was "promoted" into this position from an EDI Coordinator. I didn't have any SQL knowledge when I first got into this position. I have used this site tremendously.
One of the greatest things I have used from this site was a script that I found that helped optimize through reindexing my whole database. I had used this same script on here that allowed me to find a corrupt index. I had a database go into suspect mode. I ran this script that I had found on here to see if it was maybe an index that needed to be reindexed. I found out that the script couldn't latch onto a particular index. This allowed me to find that there was a torn index page in our production ERP database. Our database was down for a day and a half, but I became the hero because I was able to delete the index and rebuild it.
That was just one of the times that this site has helped me. This site has been like milk for a baby and now I'm eating meat and potatoes. I have sql server central as my home page at work and at home.
I've also purchased red-gate sql backup pro from an advertisement on your site.
I'm telling you, I've gained alot from this site.
Oh yeah, I haven't been fired yet... š
I hope that I'll be able to contribute to the articles or scripts one day and help an up and coming DBA.
October 2, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Daily the mail comes
A newsletter wise and true -
Thank you SSC
(here's hoping the judges like haiku š )
Cindy
P.S. I also really appreciate the weekly updates, they are a great summary of news, blogs, etc.
October 2, 2007 at 4:29 pm
SELECT opinion_id, site_name, site_benefits
FROM tblMyOpinions_SitesILike
WHERE positive_opinion = 1
AND site_ranking = 1
AND site_usefulness > 10
GO
opinion_id, site_name, site_benefits
2, 'sqlservercentral.com', 'Great navigation, easy to get in and out'
5, 'sqlservercentral.com', 'New relevant content, humor, and wit inside a daily newsletter'
10, 'sqlservercentral.com', 'Helpful articles, useful tips, great insight'
SELECT YIV.visit_id, YIV.visit_category, YIV.visit_comments, SOML.life_short_text
FROM tblMyOpinions_WhyIVisit AS YIV
LEFT OUTER JOIN tblStoryOfMyLife AS SOML
ON YIV.story_id = SOML.story_id
WHERE YIV.easy_layout = 1
AND YIV.new_content = 'DAILY'
GO
visit_id, visit_category, visit_comments, life_short_text
1 'Easy' 'I appreciate the simple and easy approach to the site. It is useful and non-polluted.', NULL
3 'Understandable' 'Content and article present a level of challenge, but are intuitive and easy to read.', 'I am a programmer by trade, but inherited the role of DBA as our company lacked one and I have in interest in database administration. I started with a basic knowledge of MS Access and thanks to the SQL community, I have developed skills in database tuning and performance, security, maintenance, and administration.'
6 'Humor' 'Theres a sense of fun and honesty here that says you enjoy what you do.', 'I have always felt it was important to enjoy what you do, its good to know that exists in the I.T. world.'
SELECT TOP 5 problem_id, problem_category, problem_desc
FROM tblMyOpinions_Help
WHERE problem_solved = 1
AND problem_importance_to_management > 3
AND saved_my_tail = 1
AND site_address = 'sqlservercentral.com'
ORDER BY random_meaningless_field
GO
problem_id problem_category problem_desc
1057, 'TRANSACTION_LOGS', 'I learned why our log files continually grew out of control and how indexing and reindexing affects things.'
1152, 'DISK_SPACE', 'I was able to modify scripts from your site to monitor our SQL server disk space and caught full backup drives 3 times since.'
1836, 'FRAGMENTATION', 'I learned how to monitor fragmentation, what it was, how to help avoid it, and what to do about it.'
1911, 'TUNING', 'Learned how to tune stored procedures, use performance monitoring, and dig into execution plans.'
1955, 'CONVERSION', 'We upgraded SQL 7 to SQL 2000, the articles I found helped me prepare and make sure everything went extremely smooth. Made me look and feel like a professional!'
October 2, 2007 at 4:34 pm
mastroine (10/2/2007)
SELECT opinion_id, site_name, site_benefitsFROM tblMyOpinions_SitesILike
WHERE positive_opinion = 1
AND site_ranking = 1
AND site_usefulness > 10
GO
opinion_id, site_name, site_benefits
2, 'sqlservercentral.com', 'Great navigation, easy to get in and out'
5, 'sqlservercentral.com', 'New relevant content, humor, and wit inside a daily newsletter'
10, 'sqlservercentral.com', 'Helpful articles, useful tips, great insight'
SELECT YIV.visit_id, YIV.visit_category, YIV.visit_comments, SOML.life_short_text
FROM tblMyOpinions_WhyIVisit AS YIV
LEFT OUTER JOIN tblStoryOfMyLife AS SOML
ON YIV.story_id = SOML.story_id
WHERE YIV.easy_layout = 1
AND YIV.new_content = 'DAILY'
GO
visit_id, visit_category, visit_comments, life_short_text
1 'Easy' 'I appreciate the simple and easy approach to the site. It is useful and non-polluted.', NULL
3 'Understandable' 'Content and article present a level of challenge, but are intuitive and easy to read.', 'I am a programmer by trade, but inherited the role of DBA as our company lacked one and I have in interest in database administration. I started with a basic knowledge of MS Access and thanks to the SQL community, I have developed skills in database tuning and performance, security, maintenance, and administration.'
6 'Humor' 'Theres a sense of fun and honesty here that says you enjoy what you do.', 'I have always felt it was important to enjoy what you do, its good to know that exists in the I.T. world.'
SELECT TOP 5 problem_id, problem_category, problem_desc
FROM tblMyOpinions_Help
WHERE problem_solved = 1
AND problem_importance_to_management > 3
AND saved_my_tail = 1
AND site_address = 'sqlservercentral.com'
ORDER BY random_meaningless_field
GO
problem_id problem_category problem_desc
1057, 'TRANSACTION_LOGS', 'I learned why our log files continually grew out of control and how indexing and reindexing affects things.'
1152, 'DISK_SPACE', 'I was able to modify scripts from your site to monitor our SQL server disk space and caught full backup drives 3 times since.'
1836, 'FRAGMENTATION', 'I learned how to monitor fragmentation, what it was, how to help avoid it, and what to do about it.'
1911, 'TUNING', 'Learned how to tune stored procedures, use performance monitoring, and dig into execution plans.'
1955, 'CONVERSION', 'We upgraded SQL 7 to SQL 2000, the articles I found helped me prepare and make sure everything went extremely smooth. Made me look and feel like a professional!'
:w00t: Here's one of the winners ;).
Now let's see how much weight I really have here on the admin side :hehe:.
October 2, 2007 at 4:39 pm
mastroine (10/2/2007)
SELECT opinion_id, site_name, site_benefitsFROM tblMyOpinions_SitesILike
WHERE positive_opinion = 1
AND site_ranking = 1
AND site_usefulness > 10
GO
opinion_id, site_name, site_benefits
2, 'sqlservercentral.com', 'Great navigation, easy to get in and out'
5, 'sqlservercentral.com', 'New relevant content, humor, and wit inside a daily newsletter'
10, 'sqlservercentral.com', 'Helpful articles, useful tips, great insight'
SELECT YIV.visit_id, YIV.visit_category, YIV.visit_comments, SOML.life_short_text
FROM tblMyOpinions_WhyIVisit AS YIV
LEFT OUTER JOIN tblStoryOfMyLife AS SOML
ON YIV.story_id = SOML.story_id
WHERE YIV.easy_layout = 1
AND YIV.new_content = 'DAILY'
GO
visit_id, visit_category, visit_comments, life_short_text
1 'Easy' 'I appreciate the simple and easy approach to the site. It is useful and non-polluted.', NULL
3 'Understandable' 'Content and article present a level of challenge, but are intuitive and easy to read.', 'I am a programmer by trade, but inherited the role of DBA as our company lacked one and I have in interest in database administration. I started with a basic knowledge of MS Access and thanks to the SQL community, I have developed skills in database tuning and performance, security, maintenance, and administration.'
6 'Humor' 'Theres a sense of fun and honesty here that says you enjoy what you do.', 'I have always felt it was important to enjoy what you do, its good to know that exists in the I.T. world.'
SELECT TOP 5 problem_id, problem_category, problem_desc
FROM tblMyOpinions_Help
WHERE problem_solved = 1
AND problem_importance_to_management > 3
AND saved_my_tail = 1
AND site_address = 'sqlservercentral.com'
ORDER BY random_meaningless_field
GO
problem_id problem_category problem_desc
1057, 'TRANSACTION_LOGS', 'I learned why our log files continually grew out of control and how indexing and reindexing affects things.'
1152, 'DISK_SPACE', 'I was able to modify scripts from your site to monitor our SQL server disk space and caught full backup drives 3 times since.'
1836, 'FRAGMENTATION', 'I learned how to monitor fragmentation, what it was, how to help avoid it, and what to do about it.'
1911, 'TUNING', 'Learned how to tune stored procedures, use performance monitoring, and dig into execution plans.'
1955, 'CONVERSION', 'We upgraded SQL 7 to SQL 2000, the articles I found helped me prepare and make sure everything went extremely smooth. Made me look and feel like a professional!'
A W S O M E
* Noel
October 2, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Hey Noeld, stop copying my answers :hehe:.
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