Unvetted
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I saw a debate somewhere in print (sorry, can't remember the reference) about libraries in America and whether the Internet will doom them. If someone knows what I'm talking about, please post the reference. Basically it was a debate about whether the tremendous amount of information on the Internet would make libraries obsolete and would they be used less and less while electronic resources would be used more and more. One of the big points in favor of keeping libraries and their success was that there are still vast segments of the populace that can't afford computers or broadband and libraries provide an important way for them to access the World Wide Web.
But there was one quote in particular that caught my eye. Actually I'll paraphrase because I don't have the quote. It mentioned that most of the information in the library is "vetted", while on the Internet it is not and you never know the quality of the information. That was one of those lines that made me stop and think for a minute, literally stopping me in my tracks.
There's lots to this and so much so that I need to probably write an article, but I think this is one of those reasons that Open Source isn't as big a deal to many Microsoft guys in corporate America or their managers. The posting in Usenet, the personal websites and other places where we have all wandered to in search of a solution, are unvetted. No one has actually tested and proven the solutions work.
And that's scary.
Now you might find various places that all reference some site and decide the information is useful, and if it works, you'll tell others how great the information was. But how many of those solutions you've found do not work? How many times have you found something posted, given it a try and then gone to your manager to say so-and-so's website didn't work?
Probably not too often. Not the trying part since we've all probably done that, but the admitting it part. Blaming things on Steve Jones' articles probably doesn't go over nearly as well with your corporate management as blaming TechNet. Not that one is necessarily better than the other 🙂
This is one of those areas that corporations can go a long way towards fighting open source software. Even IBM decided to build their own Linux and sell that. The reason that they succeed and you buy from them instead of downloading Debian, Mandrake, or whatever, is because they're giving you some amount of "vetting" to Linux. Giving you the idea that they have a whole group of people testing, documenting, and providing you with valid information that they'll stand behind.
And companies buy it. Because managers know that their complaints to Linus Torvalds or Alan Cox are probably not going to be listened to. At least with IBM there's someone they can blame and who will take responsibility.
Steve Jones
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I use the
'an older boy told me to do it'
excuse in those cases.
But I suppose from an insurance and legal perspective a website that is not an offical support site could be held liable for offering support that may not work???
If the world, people ..etc.. really cared about how the system worked there would not be specialization of skills and we would be only making changes to the 'society' once everyone had complete understanding of how every piece of code and mechanation process which affected ones life and worked.
Not enough people care what a good SQL statement is. But should they?
My question is who knows what is a 'good' source of information really is. Could Bill or Linus answer a question on any aspect of their software(s) and be more right than a say a Steve or shushy.
Are the social safety nets in place able to truely conclude that the data is good. Is all the information peer reviewed? Is that the contention?
I have too many questions and not enough answers regarding this subject.
Is the canon of any sector of information inrefutable? How can that be resolved with our existance being of such a subjective and temporal nature.
Yours Truly,
Edward W. Stanley
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I'm not sure you could say a library is 'vetted' other than that the books are purchased from generally known publishers. Librarians do not, should not, and are not qualified to pass judgement on, the contents of the books that are available. In any library are countless books on questionable medical advice, pop psychological advice, fringe political ideology etc.
If you need reliable legal information, you consult a lawyer, for medical information you consult a doctor etc, not a librarian.
As far as the concept of IT vetting goes, as you point out, expert support and backing is not going to go away; that's exactly what business and other reliability oriented users will pay for. Plenty of experimenters exist to play with the free new ideas and perhaps eventually make them mainstream.
BTW, the issue should not be considered 'open source' vs 'closed source'. It's a matter of 'supported' vs 'unsupported'. Just because a product source is open does not mean that a vendor cannot make a good living providing support for particular versions. There is nothing about closed source in itself (other than the fact that we associate it with support) that has any functional advantage in this regard.
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-- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers --
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The reason we still need libraries is that we require access to original or certifiably unaltered and unabridged documents. Whenever I see a site that posts excerpts from a scientific study or legal document they very rarely post the entire document or, as I have encountered only far too often, they have changed key words in order to fortify their own interpretations of that document.
The days of the library are not numbered as long as people still desire fact checking and research. I know I do.
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...and the days of the library are most definitely not numbered as long as there are people who derive immense pleasure from the joy of curling up with a good book..be it a favourite murder mystery, science fiction or even "The Guru's Guide to SQL Server"....
My vacations would be incomplete if I didn't go armed to each with a zillion books from the local library...whereas my laptop is allowed to gather dust for the duration...
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
I'd agree that the librarian's don't vet the information, but the fact that the book is published shows that someone has liability and stands behind the book, wacky idea or not.
And I hope libraries' days are not numbered. I still enjoy stopping by, sitting for a few, and even checking out books. With my reading habit, I can't afford to always buy new
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That whole librarian thing can be pretty hot... but seriously it is for of social interaction that libraries exist... and costs as well.... and it makes you, I know absurd but, actually go somewhere to get information. Chapters and such try to be like libraries.. read books in store, so it 'aint'
that the mode of information gathering is out of date just many other forms are emulating the same system 4 more choice. I like to get my info from reports on up and coming peer review (peer review is even to dry for me) personally, such as sci am or the economist, they are peroidicals but generally have more content than month of newpapers and allow me not to commit to a school of thought on any scientific or economic model, but let me know whats caught the ear of the people who sometimes can write 'when I was on the moon last' as the start of their discussion on space exploration... That type of content and perspective is from whom I feel they VETT the solution or up and coming shifts in technology and / or market shifts to where it will be implimented first.
apologise for my earlier grammer and spelling after I read what I wrote.. but i'm with cold now ...
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but the fact that the book is published shows that someone has liability and stands behind the book, wacky idea or not......don't know about this steve...
chinese translations of "H.P & the half-blood Prince" were being sold in China even before the original hit the shelves in the U.K...
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
but the half blood prince was probably a ninja of the evil taiwan dominion and HP was an honorable upstanding studious against magic person of lowly chinese servitude ... they then would fight climaticly... dragonballZ format where the prince would be destroyed forever. H.P. would grow up and join the army and die in valor while saving the evil taiwanese from the evils of capitalism spells...
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Hey - you've been ferreted out...hiding behind the mask of GPF^192 is a member of the "wizards of China's thriving piracy industry" - you must be the one they referred to in the article I read about "rewriting many parts of the book" including "the ending"...?!?!?!?!
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
The publisher is liable. Not that that means they will sue, but they can.
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