 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
.NET Forum / Languages / C# / March 2008For Mr. Skeet. MVP Defined [off-topic]
Just a funny qoute I got from a friend of mine, who is a MVP. I got it via phone, in Swedish, but will translate as best I can.. <q> Well it is simple. As Microsoft is a poor company with no assets, or monies, whatsoever; they can't afford to hire skilled people. So they hand out nifty titles to people like me, to do the work for them. For free! Sometimes Microsoft ask me how stuff works. I don't have a problem with that. <q/> Sounds like you Jon. - Michael Starberg > Just a funny qoute I got from a friend of mine, who is a MVP. > I got it via phone, in Swedish, but will translate as best I can.. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > - Michael Starberg Brings back memories of Team OS/2 (which I have dim memories of actually having been a part of). :) hmm. I don't get it. > Just a funny qoute I got from a friend of mine, who is a MVP. > I got it via phone, in Swedish, but will translate as best I can.. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > - Michael Starberg Ya this one went over my head as well. If you want to get jon's attention post a thread with subject: objects are passed by reference by default. That ought to wake him up. Or no, was it pass by value?...  Signature-- Regards, Alvin Bruney [MVP ASP.NET] [Shameless Author plug] The O.W.C. Black Book, 2nd Edition Exclusively on www.lulu.com/owc $19.99 > hmm. I don't get it. > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >> >> - Michael Starberg > Ya this one went over my head as well. If you want to get jon's attention > post a thread with subject: objects are passed by reference by default. That > ought to wake him up. Or no, was it pass by value?... It depends whether or not they contain extended ASCII, or decimals (i.e. fixed point numbers) ;) The first post got my attention, but I didn't really get it either. SignatureJon Skeet - <skeet@pobox.com> http://www.pobox.com/~skeet Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/jon.skeet World class .NET training in the UK: http://iterativetraining.co.uk > [...] > The first post got my attention, but I didn't really get it either. Well, you should know by now that Starberg has a sense of humor that sometimes seems to lose something in the translation. :) But, possessing myself a somewhat abstract sense of humor that other people often don't "get" (and I usually find some humor in Michael's posts when he's intentionally being funny :) ), I'll take a stab at explaining it. Michael was apparently talking to someone else who's an MVP, who commented on the MVP program by pointing out that Microsoft has managed to staff much of their technical support offerings with people who basically work for no pay. Yes, there are some compensatory elements to the MVP program, but given how much time MVP's actually spend on what they do that earns them the title, if converted to an hourly rate it wouldn't even make minimum wage (or whatever the equivalent might be in countries other than the US :) ), never mind a salary suitable for highly proficient technical staff. Basically, Microsoft's getting a major bargain with the MVP program, and Michael's friend is sarcastically pointing that out (by describing Microsoft as a penniless company, something we all know it's not). Or something like that. I think once you get this far into trying to explain a joke, it's pretty much dead already. But hey, I tried. :) Pete <snip> > Basically, Microsoft's getting a major bargain with the MVP program, and > Michael's friend is sarcastically pointing that out (by describing > Microsoft as a penniless company, something we all know it's not). I think I got that much, but didn't see why it related to me in particular. I'd say all the MVPs do sterling work - not necessarily on Microsoft's behalf all the time, admittedly... I know I'm happy to point out when a non-MS solution is the most appropriate one :) SignatureJon Skeet - <skeet@pobox.com> http://www.pobox.com/~skeet Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/jon.skeet World class .NET training in the UK: http://iterativetraining.co.uk > I think I got that much, but didn't see why it related to me in > particular. I'd say all the MVPs do sterling work - not necessarily on > Microsoft's behalf all the time, admittedly... I know I'm happy to > point out when a non-MS solution is the most appropriate one :) One of the benefits of not actually being paid staff. :) I think Michael dedicated his post to you because, as evidenced in past messages from him, he views you as sort of the epitomy of MVP-ness. And really, can you blame him? After all, in addition to all the useful replies you post here, you have a book! :) Pete >> I think I got that much, but didn't see why it related to me in >> particular. I'd say all the MVPs do sterling work - not necessarily [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > MVP-ness. And really, can you blame him? After all, in addition to > all the useful replies you post here, you have a book! :) Jon *is* the epitomy of MVP-ness. He knows more about several MS technologies than any MS employee (at least the ones allowed to talk to the general public). > Pete > > I think Michael dedicated his post to you because, as evidenced in > > past messages from him, he views you as sort of the epitomy of [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > technologies than any MS employee (at least the ones allowed to talk to the > general public). Lovely as it would be to bathe in this glory as if it were fact, it's simply not true :( I think I can reasonably consider myself an expert to a fair degree on C# as a language - but talk to Eric Lippert some time. (Or others, I'm sure - Eric's just the MS employee I've had the most contact with about C#.) I'm competent with the standard libraries. I like to think I know a fair amount about threading - but talk to Joe Duffy some time. (Or buy his upcoming book. I haven't read it yet, but I seriously doubt it will be anything other than a market-killer for other Windows concurrency books.) When it comes to web services, WinForms, ADO.NET, etc - I'm bluffing. Well, not bluffing per se, but I'm far from an expert. However, I'm quite good at working out where problems are, even if I wouldn't be able to write the complete app - and that can give the appearance of expertise without the reality. You could call it Just-In-Time expertise, potentially ;) This isn't some exercise in false modesty. I'm proud to be useful to the community, even if it's mostly a skill in communicating the "little bit more" that I know rather than being a true expert in all the fields I answer questions about. Just don't mistake the ability to not look stupid (most of the time) with true expertise. I blogged similar thoughts recently, btw: http://msmvps.com/blogs/jon.skeet/archive/2008/01/26/bridging-gaps-and- finding-my-role.aspx I appreciate the compliment mind you, even though I disagree with it :) SignatureJon Skeet - <skeet@pobox.com> http://www.pobox.com/~skeet Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/jon.skeet World class .NET training in the UK: http://iterativetraining.co.uk Free MagazinesGet these publications absolutely FREE for up to 12 months. There are no hidden fees and no obligation. Simply choose a title, complete the application form and submit it. Read more ...
|
Reply to this Message
|
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.