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squillman http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/fe6c5931802371700bddfa845f8a4d86?s=16&d=identicon&r=PGsquillman squillman asked: Sysadmins tend to get stereotyped with a holier-than-thou attitude. Do you feel you fall into this stereotype (in general)? Why/Why not?

Ward http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/f347c53c9cb1ddcb816daeb22aaf89c8?s=16&d=identicon&r=PGWard Ward answered: Here? With a whole ton of smarter people ready to tell you you're wrong? No way.

ErikA http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/b8f700857e67da1a482498c35e39338d?s=16&d=identicon&r=PGErikA ErikA answered: As I'm able, I try and come across as approachable rather than holier-than-thou.

pauska http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/736558f18dfae17d79cf0479cac2838f?s=16&d=identicon&r=PGpauska pauska answered: Yeah, when I was 16 and the l33t3st dude around with 8 freebsd servers on the attic running IRC bots. But now, no.. You learn pretty quickly that a smile and a service-oriented attitude opens up new opportunities.

Ben Pilbrow http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/8319c829f0b0a7e7f4e07faa513fe261?s=16&d=identicon&r=PGBen Pilbrow Ben Pilbrow answered: Not really. Look at my history, which speaks for itself. Sure on very few occasions I've really laid something on thick, but it's something they really shouldn't have been doing. 99% of my answers don't convey they "I know more than you, I'm more important than you" attitude. I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.

Chris S http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/71838b1ccd71421a3fc3db6612ba83c1?s=16&d=identicon&r=PGChris S Chris S answered: I get that from time to time, but only from people who are half-a**ing the job, and know full well what they're doing is going to be unmaintainable... but it's not their problem or prerogative, so I can't blame them for trying to get away with it. There is more than one "right" solution to most problems, I'm open-minded about them. Just don't try to serve me dog crap on a silver platter and expect me to fawn over the shiny.

freiheit http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0e68b82b2d7a20eba36c9fbe4350dd0d?s=16&d=identicon&r=PGfreiheit freiheit answered: Holier-than-thou? I try not to be, but I do probably come across that way sometimes.

WesleyDavid http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/a5ff577e70b04252ff110946377fd706?s=16&d=identicon&r=PGWesleyDavid WesleyDavid answered: I struggle with this some days, and not others. It's strange, at any given point I suspect that I am the dumbest person in the room (this get-together included). At other times, when I see someone having done something that appears to be absurd, I get smug. I usually only feel it on the inside and am shamed by it (especially since I have had the good fortune of being around people that did not hold it in so I could see how ugly it is).
In general, aside from the water-cooler chatting about lusers, I think I stay fairly grounded. Even when I see something that looks obviously wrong, I always wonder "I'd like to know why that person thought that was necessary... maybe I'm missing something..."

voretaq7 http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/03b75a71937ed56b4d9c3d244f776d05?s=16&d=identicon&r=PGvoretaq7 voretaq7 answered: Well, my environment is a beautiful gilded castle with singing birdies in all the towers. Of course I'm holier than you slobs! Seriously? Yes, in the sense that I push the best solution on people.
I feel that there are certain times when we can answer a question in the way the asker expects, but we should instead point them at a better solution.
I for one want ServerFault to be the place people go to for GOOD answers -- sometimes that means the answer is "Don't do that. You'll break the internet and I'll come to your door and yell at you!" On the other hand I recognize that not everyone has the luxury of being able to implement the good/right solution: I've often answered questions with "good solution, BIG NASTY DISCLAIMER, quick hack". All environments are different, and as users here we need to understand that -- the same goes for mods.

MDMarra http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e6742a4db416a14e4b0201e0ee2f2506?s=16&d=identicon&r=PGMDMarra MDMarra answered: To users that are PITAs and insist that they are always right, of course. I am holier-than-them when it comes to my network. That's why I'm the one getting paid to run it and they're getting paid to crunch numbers in Excel. That said, I think that user horror stories give us SAs a "common enemy" for lack of a better word. User stories are something that everyone can relate to and actually help build a good community in [chat] and in comments.

squillman http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/fe6c5931802371700bddfa845f8a4d86?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG squillman asked: Sysadmins tend to get stereotyped with a holier-than-thou attitude. Do you feel you fall into this stereotype (in general)? Why/Why not?

Ward http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/f347c53c9cb1ddcb816daeb22aaf89c8?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG Ward answered: Here? With a whole ton of smarter people ready to tell you you're wrong? No way.

ErikA http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/b8f700857e67da1a482498c35e39338d?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG ErikA answered: As I'm able, I try and come across as approachable rather than holier-than-thou.

pauska http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/736558f18dfae17d79cf0479cac2838f?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG pauska answered: Yeah, when I was 16 and the l33t3st dude around with 8 freebsd servers on the attic running IRC bots. But now, no.. You learn pretty quickly that a smile and a service-oriented attitude opens up new opportunities.

Ben Pilbrow http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/8319c829f0b0a7e7f4e07faa513fe261?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG Ben Pilbrow answered: Not really. Look at my history, which speaks for itself. Sure on very few occasions I've really laid something on thick, but it's something they really shouldn't have been doing. 99% of my answers don't convey they "I know more than you, I'm more important than you" attitude. I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.

Chris S http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/71838b1ccd71421a3fc3db6612ba83c1?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG Chris S answered: I get that from time to time, but only from people who are half-a**ing the job, and know full well what they're doing is going to be unmaintainable... but it's not their problem or prerogative, so I can't blame them for trying to get away with it. There is more than one "right" solution to most problems, I'm open-minded about them. Just don't try to serve me dog crap on a silver platter and expect me to fawn over the shiny.

freiheit http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0e68b82b2d7a20eba36c9fbe4350dd0d?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG freiheit answered: Holier-than-thou? I try not to be, but I do probably come across that way sometimes.

WesleyDavid http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/a5ff577e70b04252ff110946377fd706?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG WesleyDavid answered: I struggle with this some days, and not others. It's strange, at any given point I suspect that I am the dumbest person in the room (this get-together included). At other times, when I see someone having done something that appears to be absurd, I get smug. I usually only feel it on the inside and am shamed by it (especially since I have had the good fortune of being around people that did not hold it in so I could see how ugly it is).
In general, aside from the water-cooler chatting about lusers, I think I stay fairly grounded. Even when I see something that looks obviously wrong, I always wonder "I'd like to know why that person thought that was necessary... maybe I'm missing something..."

voretaq7 http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/03b75a71937ed56b4d9c3d244f776d05?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG voretaq7 answered: Well, my environment is a beautiful gilded castle with singing birdies in all the towers. Of course I'm holier than you slobs! Seriously? Yes, in the sense that I push the best solution on people.
I feel that there are certain times when we can answer a question in the way the asker expects, but we should instead point them at a better solution.
I for one want ServerFault to be the place people go to for GOOD answers -- sometimes that means the answer is "Don't do that. You'll break the internet and I'll come to your door and yell at you!" On the other hand I recognize that not everyone has the luxury of being able to implement the good/right solution: I've often answered questions with "good solution, BIG NASTY DISCLAIMER, quick hack". All environments are different, and as users here we need to understand that -- the same goes for mods.

MDMarra http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e6742a4db416a14e4b0201e0ee2f2506?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG MDMarra answered: To users that are PITAs and insist that they are always right, of course. I am holier-than-them when it comes to my network. That's why I'm the one getting paid to run it and they're getting paid to crunch numbers in Excel. That said, I think that user horror stories give us SAs a "common enemy" for lack of a better word. User stories are something that everyone can relate to and actually help build a good community in [chat] and in comments.

squillman squillman asked: Sysadmins tend to get stereotyped with a holier-than-thou attitude. Do you feel you fall into this stereotype (in general)? Why/Why not?

Ward Ward answered: Here? With a whole ton of smarter people ready to tell you you're wrong? No way.

ErikA ErikA answered: As I'm able, I try and come across as approachable rather than holier-than-thou.

pauska pauska answered: Yeah, when I was 16 and the l33t3st dude around with 8 freebsd servers on the attic running IRC bots. But now, no.. You learn pretty quickly that a smile and a service-oriented attitude opens up new opportunities.

Ben Pilbrow Ben Pilbrow answered: Not really. Look at my history, which speaks for itself. Sure on very few occasions I've really laid something on thick, but it's something they really shouldn't have been doing. 99% of my answers don't convey they "I know more than you, I'm more important than you" attitude. I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.

Chris S Chris S answered: I get that from time to time, but only from people who are half-a**ing the job, and know full well what they're doing is going to be unmaintainable... but it's not their problem or prerogative, so I can't blame them for trying to get away with it. There is more than one "right" solution to most problems, I'm open-minded about them. Just don't try to serve me dog crap on a silver platter and expect me to fawn over the shiny.

freiheit freiheit answered: Holier-than-thou? I try not to be, but I do probably come across that way sometimes.

WesleyDavid WesleyDavid answered: I struggle with this some days, and not others. It's strange, at any given point I suspect that I am the dumbest person in the room (this get-together included). At other times, when I see someone having done something that appears to be absurd, I get smug. I usually only feel it on the inside and am shamed by it (especially since I have had the good fortune of being around people that did not hold it in so I could see how ugly it is).
In general, aside from the water-cooler chatting about lusers, I think I stay fairly grounded. Even when I see something that looks obviously wrong, I always wonder "I'd like to know why that person thought that was necessary... maybe I'm missing something..."

voretaq7 voretaq7 answered: Well, my environment is a beautiful gilded castle with singing birdies in all the towers. Of course I'm holier than you slobs! Seriously? Yes, in the sense that I push the best solution on people.
I feel that there are certain times when we can answer a question in the way the asker expects, but we should instead point them at a better solution.
I for one want ServerFault to be the place people go to for GOOD answers -- sometimes that means the answer is "Don't do that. You'll break the internet and I'll come to your door and yell at you!" On the other hand I recognize that not everyone has the luxury of being able to implement the good/right solution: I've often answered questions with "good solution, BIG NASTY DISCLAIMER, quick hack". All environments are different, and as users here we need to understand that -- the same goes for mods.

MDMarra MDMarra answered: To users that are PITAs and insist that they are always right, of course. I am holier-than-them when it comes to my network. That's why I'm the one getting paid to run it and they're getting paid to crunch numbers in Excel. That said, I think that user horror stories give us SAs a "common enemy" for lack of a better word. User stories are something that everyone can relate to and actually help build a good community in [chat] and in comments.

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squillman http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/fe6c5931802371700bddfa845f8a4d86?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG squillman asked: Sysadmins tend to get stereotyped with a holier-than-thou attitude. Do you feel you fall into this stereotype (in general)? Why/Why not?

Ward http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/f347c53c9cb1ddcb816daeb22aaf89c8?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG Ward answered: Here? With a whole ton of smarter people ready to tell you you're wrong? No way.

ErikA http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/b8f700857e67da1a482498c35e39338d?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG ErikA answered: As I'm able, I try and come across as approachable rather than holier-than-thou.

pauska http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/736558f18dfae17d79cf0479cac2838f?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG pauska answered: Yeah, when I was 16 and the l33t3st dude around with 8 freebsd servers on the attic running IRC bots. But now, no.. You learn pretty quickly that a smile and a service-oriented attitude opens up new opportunities.

Ben Pilbrow http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/8319c829f0b0a7e7f4e07faa513fe261?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG Ben Pilbrow answered: Not really. Look at my history, which speaks for itself. Sure on very few occasions I've really laid something on thick, but it's something they really shouldn't have been doing. 99% of my answers don't convey they "I know more than you, I'm more important than you" attitude. I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.

Chris S http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/71838b1ccd71421a3fc3db6612ba83c1?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG Chris S answered: I get that from time to time, but only from people who are half-a**ing the job, and know full well what they're doing is going to be unmaintainable... but it's not their problem or prerogative, so I can't blame them for trying to get away with it. There is more than one "right" solution to most problems, I'm open-minded about them. Just don't try to serve me dog crap on a silver platter and expect me to fawn over the shiny.

freiheit http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0e68b82b2d7a20eba36c9fbe4350dd0d?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG freiheit answered: Holier-than-thou? I try not to be, but I do probably come across that way sometimes.

WesleyDavid http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/a5ff577e70b04252ff110946377fd706?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG WesleyDavid answered: I struggle with this some days, and not others. It's strange, at any given point I suspect that I am the dumbest person in the room (this get-together included). At other times, when I see someone having done something that appears to be absurd, I get smug. I usually only feel it on the inside and am shamed by it (especially since I have had the good fortune of being around people that did not hold it in so I could see how ugly it is).
In general, aside from the water-cooler chatting about lusers, I think I stay fairly grounded. Even when I see something that looks obviously wrong, I always wonder "I'd like to know why that person thought that was necessary... maybe I'm missing something..."

voretaq7 http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/03b75a71937ed56b4d9c3d244f776d05?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG voretaq7 answered: Well, my environment is a beautiful gilded castle with singing birdies in all the towers. Of course I'm holier than you slobs! Seriously? Yes, in the sense that I push the best solution on people.
I feel that there are certain times when we can answer a question in the way the asker expects, but we should instead point them at a better solution.
I for one want ServerFault to be the place people go to for GOOD answers -- sometimes that means the answer is "Don't do that. You'll break the internet and I'll come to your door and yell at you!" On the other hand I recognize that not everyone has the luxury of being able to implement the good/right solution: I've often answered questions with "good solution, BIG NASTY DISCLAIMER, quick hack". All environments are different, and as users here we need to understand that -- the same goes for mods.

MDMarra http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e6742a4db416a14e4b0201e0ee2f2506?s=16&d=identicon&r=PG MDMarra answered: To users that are PITAs and insist that they are always right, of course. I am holier-than-them when it comes to my network. That's why I'm the one getting paid to run it and they're getting paid to crunch numbers in Excel. That said, I think that user horror stories give us SAs a "common enemy" for lack of a better word. User stories are something that everyone can relate to and actually help build a good community in [chat] and in comments.

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