Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: It's a lovely day in the neighborhood

Author:Joshua Allen
Posted:9/16/2000; 8:36:59 PM
Topic:It's a lovely day in the neighborhood
Msg #:21421 (In response to 21417)
Prev/Next:21420 / 21424

Well, I will also add that I do not at all mind flaming, people calling me stupid, or whatever. I also noticed that you sometimes pose things very strongly, perhaps more strongly than you believe, and I think that is actually a smart trick. Suppose I feel there may be other perspectives available to me and I know that I need more debate from other people to test my current understanding of something. If I pose something in a way that will goad people into arguing back strongly, then I can find out what all of their best arguments are very quickly. Parsimony is a very inefficient way to get people to care about the topic you're debating. When people get a bit angry at you, they tend to tell you things they might not say if they were trying to protect your ego. In my experience, this has led to me actually changing my opinion on things that I would have never had the opportunity before. I just assume that is what you are doing, and admire you for it. The hard part is using this technique without coming across as arrogant or hurting the feelings of the sensitive kids in the class. Don't worry about me; flame away! (but also respect Dave's rules) I never take anything personally.

As for official policies, Microsoft does have some policies in the handbook, but most is left up to the common sense and discretion of the employees. I personally would rather be treated as just another human being, but also don't wish to hide my employment. I personally have some strong feelings about what is right and what is wrong in software, which is the reason I chose to join Microsoft. When I interviewed for my position, all of the machines in my house were running Redhat, and I have been hacking Linux since the early 90s. I still run Linux alongside Windows on my laptop and have always been a strong supporter of networked developer communities (and always will be). Although I chose to use Linux, I became increasingly alarmed at what I saw as the politicization of software, and seeing some "movements" that I found morally repugnant latching onto my Internet. I really do believe in what Microsoft stands for, and in a volunteer economy I have the luxury of casting my vote by choosing my employment there. The fact I work at MS is very much caused by my beliefs, and my beliefs are not much caused by my employer.

So, my identity should be irrelevant to you, and you should feel free to make your points no matter how disagreable you think those points would be to me. The worst possible outcome of dialogue that aims to approach a shared POV, IMO, is for people to hold back good points just because they are afraid of hurting feelings. That's something that all schoolkids should be forced to learn!

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