|
Welcome, glad to have you.
C'est What?
|
|
|
|
|
Downvoting is usually plain silly.
If the Lord God Almighty had consulted me before embarking upon the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler.
-- Alfonso the Wise, 13th Century King of Castile.
This is going on my arrogant assumptions. You may have a superb reason why I'm completely wrong.
-- Iain Clarke
[My articles]
|
|
|
|
|
Sunny Oludayo Alli wrote: I recently got a lot of 1votes when I started posting on The Lounge and it really caught me
FWIW, it's rarely personal; people vote for different reasons, ranging from the mark-up of your post and the tone to the actual message.
Sunny Oludayo Alli wrote: I think (IMO) that Instead of downvoting, a simple correction will go a long way & with that one will learn from past mistakes.
True, but not everyone wants to take the time to write a complete argumentation, and sometimes it's even preferable not to. There's moments when I see someone crossposting something that can be googled easily; in that case I prefer a 1-vote to give an indication, and to keep my big mouth shut.
Sunny Oludayo Alli wrote: as one mat not even know what he/she did wrong.
Very true, but if you can't say anything constructive, it's sometimes better to say nothing at all. Harsh critique can have heavier effects than a simple vote - although a large number of 1-votes might be equally disheartening. A cap might be worth considering.
Sunny Oludayo Alli wrote: I'm sure some of us have been in this position at one time or the other, the simple truth is that we're not made perfect in a single day.
The simple truth is that we can't achieve perfection by definition. It's also not required, the woods would be indeed a very dull place if only the best singing-birds were allowed to sing
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
|
|
|
|
|
as far as i am concerned the voting system is here for one reason, to highlight community submissions that are accurate, helpful or insightful. It is not a personal ranking system and does not provide a measure of individual popularity.
if a submission is misleading or could send an enquirer on a wild goose chase downvoting it helps to ensure it is disregarded. This is the most important thing, that disinformation is flagged. Adding a comment to explain the fault is advisable and appreciated but, imo, secondary to the act of downvoting.
Don't take it personally
Pedis ex oris
|
|
|
|
|
You post link to articles without any comment on the article. Many will consider that essentially as spam. At least many of your post with a lot of vote of 1 are links.
Thus you simply have to understand that we are not interested to have an initial post that is only a link to an article.
If you get a lot of 1 for an article, simply stop posting similar articles. Some people already told you that we are not interested in random links.
Simpy stop writing that kind of stuff in the lounge.
Philippe Mori
|
|
|
|
|
Hi Sunny,
Welcome to CodeProject !
I think you've gotten some great advice and information already on this thread, but I'll add a few thoughts, I hope in a brotherly spirit.
In my humble opinion, CodeProject is not "one cohesive entity:" it's many.
To me the "great citadel" of CP, what makes it the "shining city on the hill," in the entire 'universe' of .NET is the vast, and ever replenishing, stream of high-quality technical articles, tips, tricks, blog entries. In my humble opinion CP is the greatest technical educational institution on-line, with StackOverFlow (a very different reality), also just as great, in its own way.
The Lounge has its own "dynamic:" I think of it as being, at times, like the ancient Roman mob: at one point it's filled with a 'carnal' desire for what the Romans called "bread and circuses," bloody entertainment, frissons of vague sexuality, macho-posturing of gladitorial persona, sport, even sadistic violent-sport at the expense of others. Jokes that are the equivalent (in Thailand, where I live) to the tick-infested battered, limping, lame, vacant-eyed abandoned dogs that haunt the streets
And then, as if in 'magical counter-balance' to such pond-scum, a wealth of external links are often posted here on the Lounge, such as the recent wonderful pointer to the short-film, 'The Butterfly Circus.' Marvelous stories are sometimes told here by such fine writers as Roger Wright that allow us to vicariously experience a world of work (in Roger's case high-energy electrical distribution) in a most compelling and educational way.
Dalek Dave, the arch-poster, often writes posts that speak from a profound knowledge of evolutionary biology.
Individuals always transcend structure !
And then, in another moment, the Lounge is a serious place where people are talking about not only serious technical matters, but also serious personal issues, and compassion and empathy are salient, as well as excellent advice.
And, then with another 'turn-of-the-screw,' the Lounge is a place to vent those frustrations with software and hardware that plague us all as the post-PC fantasy-era "slouches towards Bethlehem." And, yes, of course, flames galore.
In the technical forums, I experience CP as "another reality," where very different dynamics come into play: great places, I think, to ask questions, debate, hopefully in a friendly way, and learn from some amazingly competent people who so generously give so much time there.
While I agree with John Ruskin, who said, "the worst vice is advice:" I'll go ahead and offer a little:
1. when you post be clear about what your motivation is, and state it. tell us why you find what you are writing about interesting, and what it means to you.
2. if you post links to external content, news, technical articles, amusing stories, whatever, comment on why you are posting this now, and what it means to you.
3. if you can, when you write, imagine that there's a person you are writing to, someone real, someone perhaps busy.
4, in terms of technical questions: in so far as you can be precise; and try to articulate, if you don't understand something, or find something confusing: just where the "sticking point" is for you.
And now, after this little message, I am sure that, in my next message, I will violate every one of my own prescriptions: may the gods help me to laugh with those who laugh with me, or even ... at me ! For that laughter is ... grace !
best, Bill
"Is it a fact - or have I dreamt it - that, by means of electricity, the world of matter has become a great nerve, vibrating thousands of miles in a breathless point of time? Rather, the round globe is a vast head, a brain, instinct with intelligence!" - Nathanial Hawthorne, House of the Seven Gables
|
|
|
|
|
Sunny Oludayo Alli wrote: I think (IMO) that Instead of downvoting, a simple correction will go a long way & with that one will learn from past mistakes.
Downvoting is the simplest correction, much better than the likely cutting comments. First off, you posted a pointless and ,crucially, inappropiate link here[^] when you were informed about this you changed the link to something else.
The next post you made was within a few minutes: Again an uncommented link, which looks (especially from a previously less active member) like advertising. If you'd provided your own opinion with the link I doubt you'd have been so thoroughly downvoted. Also the behaviour appeared trollish, the correct course with trolls is to vote to remove and move on.
Internet fora, like all forms of human communication, have their own culture: There are unwritten (and in our case some written) rules and boundaries. Everyone has two options, either to learn and remain within the boundaries of accepted behaviour, or to do their own thing which will lead to castigation by the community (and in many cases here, getting banned).
|
|
|
|
|
Thank you all for your comments, now I know better!
|
|
|
|
|
|
OK - what are you advertising?
|
|
|
|
|
I'm advertising clean living my friend. 
Its the man, not the machine - Chuck Yeager
If at first you don't succeed... get a better publicist
|
|
|
|
|
yep - I hear ya' - gave your OP a 5, a nice sentiment
|
|
|
|
|
I used to have clean living, but I drowned it in tequila. ![Jig | [Dance]](https://codeproject.freetls.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/jig.gif)
|
|
|
|
|
Now you have clinically clean living
Its the man, not the machine - Chuck Yeager
If at first you don't succeed... get a better publicist
|
|
|
|
|
Mehdi Gholam wrote: Now you have clinically clean living
Well, Mehdi, this brings a strange thought to mind:
Would truly 'clean living' involve an absence of any ability to imagine, or experience, any 'categories' of 'clean living' ?
Dante, Purgatorio, Canto XVI, lines 79-83 :
"A maggior forza e a miglior natura
liberi soggiacete; e quella cria
la mente in voi, che 'l ciel no ha in sua cura.
Però, se 'l mondo presente disvia,
in voi è la cagione, in voi si cheggia.
To a greater force, and to a better nature,
you, free, are subject, and that creates
the mind in you, which the heavens have not in their charge.
Therefore if the present world go astray,
the cause is in you, in you it is to be sought."
Perhaps, for a magical moment, that is an all-too-brief eternity, this is a truth we can know without remembering our dirty laundry is waiting to be washed ?
best, Bill
"Is it a fact - or have I dreamt it - that, by means of electricity, the world of matter has become a great nerve, vibrating thousands of miles in a breathless point of time? Rather, the round globe is a vast head, a brain, instinct with intelligence!" - Nathanial Hawthorne, House of the Seven Gables
|
|
|
|
|
I do not have dirty laundry, so there is none to wait to be washed.
I shower often, so am the cleanest thing in the house.
My garments get cleaner by contact with me.
I tell lies, too.
Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together.
Manfred R. Bihy: "Looks as if OP is learning resistant."
|
|
|
|
|
OriginalGriff wrote: I shower often, so am the cleanest thing in the house.
My garments get cleaner by contact with me.
That's like ... awesome, dude !
best, Bill
"Is it a fact - or have I dreamt it - that, by means of electricity, the world of matter has become a great nerve, vibrating thousands of miles in a breathless point of time? Rather, the round globe is a vast head, a brain, instinct with intelligence!" - Nathanial Hawthorne, House of the Seven Gables
|
|
|
|
|
A talk show had this money saving tip this morning:
A home brew kit used properly will give you delightful beers and save you a lot of money.
If you don't use it properly it will not save you any money - and it will make you very ill.
Ger
|
|
|
|
|
Home brewing can indeed produce delightful beers! (I put a bottle of my latest batch in the fridge a couple of hours ago - should be just about ready to taste!)
Of course, occasionally it can turn out "not as expected"...
Save money? Not necessarily. This batch cost me around $55 for ingredients, bottle caps, bottled water, cleaning supplies etc.
You can buy a whole lot of (cheap crap) commercial beer for $55. Although proper beer costs a lot more!
It also took about 6-7 hours of labor in total - sanitizing all equipment and 50 bottles takes a little time. And 5 gallons of wort takes a while to boil!
I haven't heard of anyone getting very ill from bad beer. I remember reading somewhere that most pathogens can't survive in beer, so it's naturally pretty safe. (In fact, beer was the preferred drink in the olden days, because the water wasn't safe to drink.)
It's great when you design your own beer and it turns out excellent. It's a fair bit of effort, but worth it.
OK, I'm off to the fridge!
|
|
|
|
|
Home brew wine is cost effective, the biggest ongoing costs are ingredients and sterilization stuff neither are particularly pricey. Factoring out the demijohns/brewing bins and air-locks a bottle of, say, elderflower wine came in at less the 2 quid a pop when I calculated it. Naturally the bottles cost money, but you can recycle old [commericial] wine bottles. It is also far less labour intensive (unless you are pressing grapes): An hour or so to make the liquor (including cooling time before adding the yeast) an hour to straing the liquor into the the fermenting vessel and then bottling time. The big drawback is the brewing time, which is in months rather than a couple of weeks.
This is a good book: First-Steps-Winemaking CJJ Berry[^]
[Edit]
The kits are even easier: but I haven't found one that produces as good results as starting from scratch.
|
|
|
|
|
A great quote for winemakers which I think comes from Berry's book :-
"Making five gallons is just as easy as making one, and it lasts almost twice as long" 
Days spent at sea are not deducted from one's alloted span - Phoenician proverb
|
|
|
|
|
Colin Rae wrote: Save money? Not necessarily.
well that depends where you're at. Here in Australia (Queensland) a sixpack starts at 16 bucks (!)
I put a brew down yesterday and will get my Still going again soon.
Bryce
|
|
|
|
|
A still? Is that legal over there?
I don't think we go to a lot of effort to sterilise home brew equipment (just give it a good washing out like other food related equipment). As long as the yeast that's supposed to be there can outcompete whatever else is there in tiny quantities, you're good.
We tried to make plum wine one year, but it didn't really work at all.
|
|
|
|
|
As some of you know, I spend most of my waking hours writing software - either for my employer or for myself. Over the years I've built up an offering of freeware (i.e. completely free) tools, some of which have gone on to become more popular than I could have ever imagined. Supporting thousands of users (no easy feat) has taught me some valuable lessons that I wanted to share with my fellow CPians.
- Providing support is expensive
It's a PITA to have your weekends interrupted by responding to emails from users complaining that a piece of functionality is hard to understand - or worse - just plain broken!
Lessons learned:
- Code carefully (assume very little), test and re-test! A test suite (a simple command line app that scripts your app's functionality will do) makes testing easy and even <gasp!> fun.
- Try to capture as much diagnostic information (as possible) when your app fails.
- Fail gracefully - display helpful error messages and make it easy for the end-user to report failures.
- Know your user!
All my freeware tools started out as efforts to build solutions I wasn't able to find (for free) on the net. Over time, more and more folks began using my apps, requesting new functionality and suggesting improvements to existing features. It's been a humbling and eye-opening experience and I'm immensely grateful for the feedback I've received.
Lessons learned:
- Provide an easy way (forum, email address) for users to suggest improvments
- Acknowledge their input in a timely manner. It's the least you can do for free QA!
- What my users think is cool and useful is not necessarily what I think is cool and useful.
I can't help but feel my adventures in building freeware have made me a better developer and more cognizant of what it takes to build a better product - free or commercial. I encourage every geeky CPian to do the same.
Thanks for reading,
/ravi
|
|
|
|
|
Pretty smart for an old fart.
I've also been learning these lessons and it is hard work but very gratifying.
C'est What?
|
|
|
|
|
General 
News 
Suggestion 
Question 
Bug 
Answer 
Joke 
Praise 
Rant 
Admin 
Submit an article or tip
