Ben Poole

LDD forums: are there any real Notes developers left?

This post popped up in my news reader just as I’d scrolled through the latest raft of posts, many of which were just lazy:

Randy Rhoades: Are there any real Notes developers left? - RANT!

(Great forum name by the way). Well I think one of the respondents has it down pat: observe the fifteen minute rule. If you can’t resolve your question with a gentle perusal of the Domino Designer help file, then post. but honestly, some of the questions on the LDD forums now are extraordinary.

Posted at 20:57 GDT on 06 Sep 2007  |  Categories:   |    |  lotus notes domino (12 comments)

Comments

1. Yes, outrageous!!! By the way, I'm having a problem with this @Dblookup.... can anyone take a look?
   on 06 Sep 2007 by Ed Maloney (#)
2. LOL Too specific Ed. You need to post something like this:
   
   I have written a web application that needs a value. Please fix this for me
   on 06 Sep 2007 by Ben Poole (#)
3. Ben,
   
   "Web" application gives too much away
   
   Please report a vaguer (is that a word?) post followed by several "REPOST:...." and "URGENT:..." posts having a go at people for not solving your problem explaining that your manager is really on your back to get this app finished
   
   Mike
   on 06 Sep 2007 by Mike (#)
4. This isn't just a problem at LDD. I joined Experts-Exchange for a few months and it was just as bad. What was worse about EE is that it's a paid service and the people posting answers had no idea of what the solution was. You would actually see "answers" telling you to search Google, or try a Microsoft product instead because there was absolutely no way to do that with Notes. I canceled my subscription asap.
   
   on 07 Sep 2007 by Ed Maloney (#)
5. (duplicate from ldd)
   May be more a problem of the experienced developers or their challenges.
   a) They can help better themselves using google.
   b) The problems I see in projects are more in the design space. And its difficult to articulate questions on the issue.
   If there are 3 agents in a database and each agent has its own nifty CreateAndSendEmail class the programmers might have had reason to ask questions about oo-desing, but again those questions are not easy to articulate.
   c) Especially experienced developers might be a bit afraid to show their weaknesses, though it sometimes can be a really interesting and rewarding thing.
   on 07 Sep 2007 by Axel (#)
6. By way of an update, go back and check the thread out now. Either "rupesh kr singh" is a comedy genius, or the forum really is hosed. I favour the former
   on 07 Sep 2007 by Ben Poole (#)
7. http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/nd6forum.nsf/Search?SearchView&Query=rupesh%20kr%20singh&SearchOrder=0&Start=1&Count=100
   
   I would suggest the term "comedy genius" may have been a slight stretch!
   on 07 Sep 2007 by Mike (#)
8. It makes matters worse when you are searching for a problem only to find your answer. :p
   on 07 Sep 2007 by Steve Huckaba (#)
9. @7, He's playing the long game, living a character, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike with his deadly wit.
   
   Or maybe not. :)
   on 07 Sep 2007 by Kerr (#)
10. On a serious note I think it is interesting that a post like this was posted to LDD not too long after Nathan posted about the same thing. I find it curiously interesting that the Notes/Domino platform turns more and more complicated and that the questions posted on LDD turn more and more basic... It could be that (real) developers simply get their information from other sources such as blogs and that those left in the forum really are the newbies. It could also be an indication that the platform getting increasingly complex is revealing to real problem for IBM Lotus.
    on 07 Sep 2007 by Mikkel Heisterberg (#)
11. @7 quite right. Oh dear.
    
    Mikkel, my take is that Notes came from a resolutely ”non-developer” place. It is now more complex than the original product, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing (and besides, the complexity was introduced as a result of customer demand).
    
    I think a lot of people are stuck in front of Notes and expected to “get on with it”, perhaps due to the misguided perception that it’s really easy, hence the crazy questions. That and the fact that, tsk, kids these days, they want everything on a plate...
    on 07 Sep 2007 by Ben Poole (#)
12. May I suggest searching google and developerworks in addition to Help before psoting to the forum?
    
    While I'm here, can anyone tell me where Notes stores the .FRM files?
    on 07 Sep 2007 by Dan Sickles (#)

Ben on twitter