Newsgroups: comp.unix.shell
Path: utzoo!utgpu!cunews!bnrgate!bwdls61!pww
From: pww@bnr.ca (Peter Whittaker)
Subject: Re: Norton Go Home! We don't want you!
Message-ID: <1991Feb12.215238.9907@bwdls61.bnr.ca>
Sender: usenet@bwdls61.bnr.ca (Use Net)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, Ltd., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
References: <1991Feb6.085431.6076@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au> <430@bria> <1059@TALOS.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 12 Feb 91 21:52:38 GMT

In article <1059@TALOS.UUCP> jerry@TALOS.UUCP (Jerry Gitomer) writes:
>:technoignorami (tek'no-ig'no-ram`i) a group of individuals that are constantly
>:found to be saying things like "Well, it works on my DOS machine ..."
>
>In the future they will be saying "Well, it worked on my DOS
>machine -- why can't I do that using UNIX?"  It is up to the
>UNIX community to provide a new class of tools aimed at the
>needs of the "unwilling users" who will be migrating to our
>systems in the future.

No!  It isn't at all - I am a member of the UNIX community, and I certainly
do not view this as my responsibility.

Whose responsibility is it?  Two groups:
The vendors:  they market UNIX as a solution, and it had damn well better be.
              If they claim that moving to UNIX will solve problems that exist
              on DOS, then moving must not only solve those problems, IT MUST
              NOT CREATE ANY NEW ONES!
The paper-pushers:  when non-users mandate a move to an OS, it is up them to
                    make damn sure the move has as close to zero impact as
                    possible.
And maybe a third:
SysAdmins:  those who administer users' systems are paid what they are in
            an an attempt to make users' time as effective as possible.
            If my SysAdmin supplies a tool inadequate to my job, and I don't
            have time to build a better one, I (J. User) have every right to
            complain that that person (Q. SysAdmin) is not doing the job they
            were hired to do.

It is most definitely not the responsibility of users (esp. ones who already
have more than enough to do, thank you) to supply such tools.  Those that we
do supply are gravy, and folks (users, vendors, sysadmins, and paper-pushers)
had better appreciate the, or we'll stop coming up with them.

--
Peter Whittaker      [~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~]   Open Systems Integration
pww@bnr.ca           [                          ]   Bell Northern Research 
Ph: +1 613 765 2064  [                          ]   P.O. Box 3511, Station C
FAX:+1 613 763 3283  [__________________________]   Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4H7