Another tidbit about yesterday's post...

I have actually had most of those thoughts myself at one time or another. How about that pesky inner child, eh? Oh, but I don't wear Depends. Yet. At least not all the time. ;-)

8:41:56 PM  [] blah blah blah'd on this    

Yep, I freely admit to writing poorly. My efforts are usually desperately in need of an editor's services and a few more drafts before inflicting the results on others. I tend to make more than a few mental leaps without marking them explicitly for those who will only read literally. Yes, this can cause problems and leave room for misinterpretation. My sense of humor often doesn't help, either, I've been told.

My most deft touch with literary technique does, at its best, occasionally rise toward a level many would justly label as ham-fisted. Successful use of parody, metaphor, and hyperbole may be only occasional visitors to my writing, in the eyes of some, or not even in the same galaxy, according to others. YMMV.

I have received a fair bit of, uh, feedback about yesterday's posts, which is not surprising, given the language and imagery used, plus the source for much of the traffic to them.

Among other things, it has been labeled an "utterly classless" or ad hominem attack on an individual. I can see how some might draw that conclusion. Here is my response to some of the feedback I've had so far:

Wasn't this sparked by a certain individual's "bezerker rage"?

Obviously, that was a trigger. But my desire to comment on the behavior and attitudes that have been publicly exhibited has been building for sometime, too. The individual you may be thinking about certainly is not the only one to act that way or say such things, recently or in the past. Yesterday, I decided to write about that topic.

Really, weren't you writing only about that individual?

No, I wasn't trying to write about just that individual. Had my intent been to single out an individual, I certainly could have provided an explicit link or named a name. Please note I did not. That omission was purposeful, because the individual you may be thinking of was not my intended target for those posts. I was aiming more broadly.

So what was your point?

My point was an (obviously less-than-articulate) attempt to create an amalgam of customers' sometimes absurd sense of entitlement toward software developers and companies that I have seen over the past decade or so, and toward one software developer in particular, who was named. That is not to say some who have voiced their own opinions don't have a legitimate gripe, IMO, but many have not. I guess it depends on the perspectives one is willing to use to look at any one situation, and whether one can suspend personal biases to do so more objectively.

Yeah, but you certainly seemed to concentrate on that other individual, didn't you?

Perhaps I did use too much from a single source. I can see where some could interpret it in that way, and for that I do offer an apology.)

That's a pile of crap. You're just trying to be a weasel now.

Thank you for sharing your opinion.

A sales manager once shared some wisdom with me (he did use different language, though) that went roughly like this: "A zebra can't change its stripes. Neither can you." So I won't try to change your opinion; please do likewise.

12:52:39 PM  [] blah blah blah'd on this