#CalgaryBarCamp was swell. It was refreshing to meet such a diverse group of like minded people that all essentially do the same thing (create software), but do it in different ways using different tools, platforms, and languages. The ad-hoc discussions both in the bar and between sessions were my highlight. A reoccurring theme in our conversations was that technology, tools, and platforms don't matter that much. What really matters is: people, communication, ideas, taking risks, and motivation.

The topic of our discussions reminded me of something David Heinemeier Hansson said when talking about software development:

"You don't need to be a f***ing genius to make any of this stuff work, it's not rocket surgery!" - David Heinemeier Hansson at Startup School 08

DeMarco and Lister also echoed this outlook back in the 80's, and publicized: the High-Tech Illusion:

the High-Tech Illusion: [is] the widely held conviction among people who deal with any aspect of new technology ... that they are in ... high-tech business. [These people] are indulging in this illusion whenever they find themselves explaining at a ... party, say, that that they are "in computers" ... The implication is that they are part of the high-tech world. [These people] usually aren't. The researchers who made the fundamental breakthroughs in those areas are in the high-tech business. The rest of us are appliers of their work. - Peopleware : Productive Projects and Teams

If we were in the High-Tech business, then we'd be the bottom feeders (the parasites, the grunts), because our daily activities revolve around consuming other peoples research and work (programming languages, platforms, frameworks and the like). We are consumers, we're not on the cutting edge nor are we in the high-tech world.

Perhaps building software could be much like outfitting yourself for a day in the snow. You head off to the local shopping mall, you acquire the functional items to keep yourself warm, but brands and store choice don't really matter. Whether we're buying winter boots or choosing a programming language, technology doesn't really matter. There are an infinite number of ways to solve any problem, as well as an infinite number of technical permutations to form a solution. If we can solve the problem within the constraints of our problem domain then we've succeeded.

The High-Tech Illusion often permeates my world - I work as a Web Developer in the Microsoft realm. I continually see the High-Tech Illusion manifests itself in these situations:

• Colleagues talking in vague opaque high-level metaphors that patronizingly shield you from the inter working of what they assume is beyond your comprehension
• Fixations on specific tools, hardware, platforms, and methodologies while the problem that needs to be solved is diluted and any combination of these items could solve the problem
• Colleagues that assume superiority and can't acknowledge that knowledge is acquired through research and a continual efforts to improve

Pretentiousness in the software realm (in teams, organization, and so on) is usually the byproduct of someone that's living the High-Tech Illusion.

I've been guilty of subscribing to the High-Tech Illusion. How does the High-Tech Illusion permeate your world? How can we get back to reality?

Forums or Newsgroups are a great way to expand your community, contribute to the greater development community, hone your communication skills, and stay grounded. However, forums can have a frustrating dark side. From what I can tell, the dark side of forums stem from the wide diversity of users.

On Forums we have:

• the normal users
  
• the newbies
• the trolls
• the users suffering from information fatigue syndrome
• in some cases full time employees

As a forum contributor, I like to think that I'm giving something to the community, but some days I feel like I'm wasting my time and here's why.

Frustrating forum threads:

When contributors pass your words off as their own:

Amanda from Microsoft offers this bit of advice on 08-28-2007:


Which seems vaguely similar to something I might have said back on 12-07-2006:

When users are belligerent:

"Adam has so little time he can't even read your question ..." - Brian

When users want a quick fix or want you to do their work:

"please verify and do for me some work." - dagamishiva

It makes it all worth while when users are genuinely grateful for your advice and suggestions. In the end, forums (and helping people in general) is rewarding, and some forums that explicitly cover more advanced topics omit the frustrating chatter and facilitate professional level discussions.

What are your experiences with forums?

Whether it be a group people living in the same area, the scientific community, the business community, the software community, or the global village, community is what keeps us all grounded.

Community's facilitate cross pollination (the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and alternatives), and keep egos in check. Communities reduce ignorance, can prevent the Not Invented Here (NIH) mentality, can prevent Social Isolation, and can prevent other personal or business stifling consequences.  By expanding our communities we become more grounded. To expand our community in the scientific / software realm we can attending local events, network with colleagues, participate in online forums, participate in peer reviews, contribute as technical editors, subscribe to industry related magazines and publishing's, maintain professional memberships, donate time, or contribute to other community related events.

Community is important, expand your community!

In an effort to expand my community I'm:

• Editing technical books
• Contributing to online forums
• Blogging

In the future I'd like to:

• Present at user groups
• Contribute to an open source project
• Attend more conferences
  

How are you expanding your community?

Related thoughts:

"No man is an island, entire of itself
every man is a piece of the continent, ..."
- John Donne, Meditation XVII, English clergyman & poet (1572 - 1631)

"Not Invented Here, in the context of corporate culture, sometimes occurs as a result of simple ignorance, as many companies simply never do the research to know whether a solution already exists."
- Wikipedia: Not Invented Here

"If it's a core business function -- do it yourself, no matter what."
- Joel Spolsky, In Defense of Not-Invented-Here Syndrome