I'm serious, if I'm trading music with you and you give me some neckbeardy ogg vorbis shit that is supported by nothing, I'm going to be pissed. Seriously, you can whine on for hours about why your shit is better, but that won't make me care. Give me mp3, it's supported by everything, and I get a secret amount of glee from the fact that the self-righteous shits on slashdot want me to use something different.
Bite me!
I'll be the first to admit that I was scared shitless when one of the users on my office network asked me if he could use Hamachi. I had to explain, very carefully and respectfully, why something that would circumvent our firewall and all of our network security would be a Bad Thing.
I've found that people who are slightly computer savvy will often have a very reductionist view of programming and technology. Because they have a simplistic understanding of the technology, they will assume that any problems or solutions involving that technology will be equally simple. When you explain that these systems are actually pretty complex and involve things that they don't understand, it's important to be very careful. People are often insecure about their computer knowledge, and may interpret your explanation as condescending even when you are making the best effort to be respectful and kind. If nothing else, they may feel disempowered when they find out that their simple solutions are potentially harmful, and that they actually do need experts around to take care of things.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm serious, if I'm trading music with you and you give me some neckbeardy ogg vorbis shit that is supported by nothing, I'm going to be pissed. Seriously, you can whine on for hours about why your shit is better, but that won't make me care. Give me mp3, it's supported by everything, and I get a secret amount of glee from the fact that the self-righteous shits on slashdot want me to use something different. Bite me!
I'll be the first to admit that I was scared shitless when one of the users on my office network asked me if he could use Hamachi. I had to explain, very carefully and respectfully, why something that would circumvent our firewall and all of our network security would be a Bad Thing.
I've found that people who are slightly computer savvy will often have a very reductionist view of programming and technology. Because they have a simplistic understanding of the technology, they will assume that any problems or solutions involving that technology will be equally simple. When you explain that these systems are actually pretty complex and involve things that they don't understand, it's important to be very careful. People are often insecure about their computer knowledge, and may interpret your explanation as condescending even when you are making the best effort to be respectful and kind. If nothing else, they may feel disempowered when they find out that their simple solutions are potentially harmful, and that they actually do need experts around to take care of things.