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Bruce Byfield wrote:
[snip]
> However, more to the point, I
> strongly suspect that the answers would be very different for
> developers. At least a large minority of geeks are regularly increasing
> their knowledge, and some even program in their spare time for open
> source or free software projects. I wonder: could that be the reason
> that so many tech-writers don't get along with their SMEs? Could the
> geeks unconsciously sense the indifference to the topics that occupy
> large chunkes of their lives?
>
Bruce,
I suspect you're describing the Open Source community more than the
general software development community. I've found that Open Source
geeks tend to take jobs that allow them to merge their hobby and
livelihood. An excellent model, to be sure, but not applicable to
everyone.
At my current job, the developers have experience in various Open Source
projects and your description fits them well. Our developers love to dig
around in someone else's code and improve it -- both on the clock and
off.
On the other hand, the developers at my previous job wrote a proprietary
software application. Those guys were just as dedicated to the product,
but it wasn't their hobby.
I'm not sure we can draw a direct correlation between a writer's
outside-the-office interest in a technology and their feelings about
expert/not expert knowledge about the technology. I propose, however,
that through the results to this poll, we can learn something about the
percentage of our community working at jobs that genuinely interest
them. For me, a dream job is writing about something I find
interesting....which would elicit a "Very" response from me.
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