May 21, 2008 at 10:12 pm
David Burrows (5/21/2008)
Actually, the real reason why I write is because...
I can't remember stuff no mo'.
And you are ? :blink:
lol only kidding Jeff 😉
Keep think about submitting something but can't think of anything that ain't already been done 🙁
Maybe one day ......... 😀
:ermm: wonder if I could plagiarize Jeff's work
All hail Jeff !!! 😎
You can submit old in a new bottle 🙂
May 22, 2008 at 7:00 am
Jeff Moden (5/21/2008)
David Burrows (5/21/2008)
Keep think about submitting something but can't think of anything that ain't already been done 🙁...
I saw one article by a fellow recently. He wrote about a handful of (I thought) very well known undocumented stored procedures like sp_MSForEachTable. Some folks made some pretty nasty comments about writting about something so obvious. But, to those that don't know, it's no so obvious. Sure, people can search for such things, but like all such research, most folks need to know that such a thing even exists before they can do a search.
...
I worked with SQL Server for almost 9 years and while I had "heard" about the sp_MSForEach stored procedures I had never used them and still have not, but the article did provide some ideas on how to use them. There are also some instances where I may use sp_MSForEachTable in the near future and I would have done it by hand if not for this article on "well known" undocumented stored procedures.
As this demonstrates any article published will likely find someone who needed to know what was in it. I look at as, if I provide help to 1 person the time and effort it took to write the article is worth it. Granted I have only written 1, but I did find it quite rewarding.
Jack Corbett
Consultant - Straight Path Solutions
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May 22, 2008 at 7:18 am
Also, while lots of people may have one piece of knowledge or another, maybe a full set of the knowledge has never been put in one place before. I wrote up an article for Steve on how to collect data into SCOM from a TSQL query. Nothing in the article isn't available elsewhere. As a matter of fact, throughout the article I point to all the places to get the individual pieces that I was working from. However, this is the first place that all these things will be brought together in one place. It's not that I'm inventing something new or special. I'm just publishing my research so that the next guy has a slightly easier time of it.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
May 22, 2008 at 7:32 am
Grant Fritchey (5/22/2008)
Also, while lots of people may have one piece of knowledge or another, maybe a full set of the knowledge has never been put in one place before...
Following up on what Grant said, I think our Google-search dominated world, we expect to find answers to all of our questions via a simple search. Well, if the answer is fragmented on the web (which it often is), Google can help us find all the pieces. But it is still up to us to assemble them into a solution. Therefore, there is always a need for someone to put the pieces all together into a single, concise and meaningful form, so that no one else needs to repeat the process. This is how we make the greatest progress.
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|Ted Pin >>
May 23, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Agreed. When I was writing all the time on security, my later articles started including a section called references. My point for including those links was to give folks more sources to use to better understand what I was writing about. Some times I was pulling things together from multiple sources. I knew it took me some time to do that to find a solution to a problem I was working on, and I knew I wished someone had already done it. So I wrote the article and cited the references. Because there are some out there who want the immediate solution but they are curious and want to read more.
K. Brian Kelley
@kbriankelley
March 8, 2013 at 2:33 am
This is a great question. I like to write, but the older I get the more I doubt the value of any information or opinion I have, let alone my ability to communicate it effectively.
Given the amount of bad information and general emotive comments on the internet, which I believe is devaluing it as a resource, I think we should all think about when it is appropriate to write.
March 8, 2013 at 7:29 am
What I've learned is that you don't have to be the authority on a subject to write about it. Sure, you should check the veracity of what you've written, and should read other stuff that's been written on the subject to ensure you haven't missed something obvious, but most of the time the subject matter isn't actually 'new'.
For me, an article is like teaching something on paper rather than orally.
Think of the best teacher you ever had. He / She still had to follow a syllabus; what sets apart an exceptional teacher is their capacity to present the material in such away that it interests you, and that you can understand.
Don't let your peceived lack of knowledge on a subject get in the way. Do the research, and share your findings. It can be an extremely rewarding experience.
David McKinney.
March 8, 2013 at 8:18 am
I'm a developer and an 'Accidental DBA'. These forums have saved my a%$ more times than I can count. I am always struck by the accuracy and helpfulness seen here. So I don't write because it's forever, and it's embarassing to have your inexperienced posts stuck up there forever. The competition from some of the main contributors is awesome, I mean they're not really competing, but the bar is set really high. And being a one-man-shop, I just really want to know how to make it work, with some degree of efficiency.
Like Backup. I just want my databases to be reasonably well protected. But there are so many options one can barely read the documentation. I'm like many others, when I Google for something and see one of the links is MSDN documentation, I shy away from it, knowing it will present EVERYTHING about the subject, leaving me nowhere except to muddle through it all.
Some of my experiences are hilarious, I wish I would keep notes. One time I was Googling for a solution to a db problem and hit an entry that sounded exactly like the problem I was having. The more I read, the more it sounded the same. And there it was, I had posted almost the exact same thing three years earlier, totally forgetting.
So why don't I write: My experiences constantly teach me: YOU KNOW NOTHING!
March 8, 2013 at 9:28 am
PhilM99 (3/8/2013)
I'm a developer and an 'Accidental DBA'. These forums have saved my a%$ more times than I can count. I am always struck by the accuracy and helpfulness seen here. So I don't write because it's forever, and it's embarassing to have your inexperienced posts stuck up there forever. The competition from some of the main contributors is awesome, I mean they're not really competing, but the bar is set really high. And being a one-man-shop, I just really want to know how to make it work, with some degree of efficiency.Like Backup. I just want my databases to be reasonably well protected. But there are so many options one can barely read the documentation. I'm like many others, when I Google for something and see one of the links is MSDN documentation, I shy away from it, knowing it will present EVERYTHING about the subject, leaving me nowhere except to muddle through it all.
Some of my experiences are hilarious, I wish I would keep notes. One time I was Googling for a solution to a db problem and hit an entry that sounded exactly like the problem I was having. The more I read, the more it sounded the same. And there it was, I had posted almost the exact same thing three years earlier, totally forgetting.
So why don't I write: My experiences constantly teach me: YOU KNOW NOTHING!
The more I know, the more I know nothing. More specifically, there are three levels of knowledge: Things you know, things you know you don't know, and things you don't know that you don't know. The more I learn about SQL Server for instance, I increase that which is in the first bucket. The problem is I keep putting more in the second bucket. I have no idea how much is still in the third.
Writing helps you move things from the third buck to the second and the second to the first.
March 8, 2013 at 9:32 am
PhilM99 (3/8/2013)
So why don't I write: My experiences constantly teach me: YOU KNOW NOTHING!
I agree. Constantly learning. I write anyway because someone has to do it. And yeah, the old stuff is embarrassing, but what can you do? I'm constantly reminded of how little I know.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
March 8, 2013 at 9:45 am
The more I know, the more I know nothing. More specifically, there are three levels of knowledge: Things you know, things you know you don't know, and things you don't know that you don't know. The more I learn about SQL Server for instance, I increase that which is in the first bucket. The problem is I keep putting more in the second bucket. I have no idea how much is still in the third.
Writing helps you move things from the third buck to the second and the second to the first.
...so were just mucking about with buckets, eh? Depressing, no?
Reminded me of a joke about the difference between a goldfish and a mountain goat. One mucks about in fountains...
March 8, 2013 at 9:49 am
Oh dear, this reminds me of the lawyer and the angry hen. One clucks defiance....
March 8, 2013 at 10:06 am
I have no clue why I do not write, except I write code, strategy, and business documentation all day every day. And yes I contribute here, and love this group. I would love to write fiction and have started two books which I dabble with every now and again. I have been asked directly to write three books, two technical and one a history text, and have done none of them. And there is a small group of people encouraging me to write even now. Maybe I should listen, or could be it is good I have not. Time will tell.
M.
Not all gray hairs are Dinosaurs!
March 8, 2013 at 11:42 am
I suppose that the simple response would be to say that it is an issue of time. Like other commentors, I have more customers/projects beating at the doors of my self discipline than I have the will to focus on. A deeper more realistic answer, though, is that while I "write" dozens of things in my head from day to day, few ever make it to document form because I question everything so much. I've started an 'article' for SSC a number of times because I'm pleased with a particular solution I came up with. I also remember the rush of having an article published by Pinnacle in Smart Access many years ago.
I don't get far these days, however, because from what I've read from others, I tend to be unconventional in my approaches. Instead of accepting that something shouldn't be done, I do it to find out the consequences and evaluate from there. A couple of times I've posted questions on the SSC forums seeking thoughtful input and while most responses have been in like kind, I've have received responses that expressed that I was incompetent and I should just get a real professional. Well, I've taught classes on and worked with SQL Server since v.6.5 and if that doesn't somehow warrant professional status I'm not sure what would. I know what I know and I want to know even more, but I've never been the rock in the storm type who just takes on whatever people have to say. I like to teach the teachable and learn from the creative.
So more discipline, a thicker skin, and I suppose a better commitment to my community would be the factors that would push me beyond my reticence. In the mean time, hope survives because I actually stopped long enough to respond to this question. 🙂
March 8, 2013 at 8:13 pm
Accidental post deleted.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
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