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Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • May 3, 2017 at 10:09 am

    #1940930

    allinadazework - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 9:51 AM

    Hi Steve,
    Rating or marking the posted question as duplicate etc doesn't have to be public. It could just be metadata collected for those that run the site (if they're interested - probably not).
    What I was meaning was that if you really want to work this out (obviously no-one does and this just a bit of a puff and a wheeze) then you could go through and rate the posts based on some objective criteria and then find out whether there is a significant change across time. 
    This question comes across as implying that users are getting a bit more stoopider... right? Which might be seen as a bit patronising - especially to new users - and might also put people off posting!
    Anyway, I just figured it was an interesting question and that if you want to answer it sensibly then this is how you might go about it if you had access to the data.
    Thanks

    We get hundreds of posts a day, sometimes a hundred questions a day. It's not remotely feasible or cost effective to create the meta data.
    This question is years old, and relatively few people see it. Certainly this could be off-putting or patronizing, and I agree. I was tempted to remove this early on, but left it as a place to vent.

    Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/way0utwest
    Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help
    My Blog: www.voiceofthedba.com

  • May 3, 2017 at 11:12 am

    #1940944

    jasona.work - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 8:14 AM

    So, the talk about what people do or don't know about SQL got me thinking...
    How would *you* describe (in general) your knowledge base, not only of SQL but of the underlying infrastructure (OS, networking, storage, etc) as well?
    Would you describe yourself as "broad, but shallow with a few deep spots," or "fairly narrow but deep, deep, deep," or something else?
    I would even include in describing your knowledge, the ability to choose the search terms to get you to the knowledge you need to accomplish something quickly while filtering out the "garbage" results.

    Myself, I'd probably describe my knowledge as being very broad, relatively shallow, with a few deeper spots.

    What about you?  How would you describe yourself?

    I would describe myself as this:

    Good understanding of the basics. A "day-to-day" DBA with modest BI experience and modest infrastructure knowledge that may be partially out of date.

    Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

  • May 3, 2017 at 11:38 am

    #1940947

    jasona.work - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 8:14 AM

    So, the talk about what people do or don't know about SQL got me thinking...
    How would *you* describe (in general) your knowledge base, not only of SQL but of the underlying infrastructure (OS, networking, storage, etc) as well?
    Would you describe yourself as "broad, but shallow with a few deep spots," or "fairly narrow but deep, deep, deep," or something else?
    I would even include in describing your knowledge, the ability to choose the search terms to get you to the knowledge you need to accomplish something quickly while filtering out the "garbage" results.

    Myself, I'd probably describe my knowledge as being very broad, relatively shallow, with a few deeper spots.

    What about you?  How would you describe yourself?

    Very deep understanding of T-SQL, very deep understanding of performance tuning by indexing / query rewriting. Very deep understanding of normalization and database design (that third is the odd one out in my skillset).

    Generic understanding of almost everything else related to SQL Server within the context of both development and DBA work (including SSIS and SSRS), and I know my limitation, know what I don't know, and know where to find answers if I need them.

    No understanding at all in the BI area (except SSIS and SSRS as noted above)

    Hugo Kornelis, SQL Server/Data Platform MVP (2006-2016)
    Visit my SQL Server blog: https://sqlserverfast.com/blog/
    SQL Server Execution Plan Reference: https://sqlserverfast.com/epr/

  • May 3, 2017 at 11:46 am

    #1940949

    Steve Jones - SSC Editor - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 10:09 AM

    allinadazework - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 9:51 AM

    Hi Steve,
    Rating or marking the posted question as duplicate etc doesn't have to be public. It could just be metadata collected for those that run the site (if they're interested - probably not).
    What I was meaning was that if you really want to work this out (obviously no-one does and this just a bit of a puff and a wheeze) then you could go through and rate the posts based on some objective criteria and then find out whether there is a significant change across time. 
    This question comes across as implying that users are getting a bit more stoopider... right? Which might be seen as a bit patronising - especially to new users - and might also put people off posting!
    Anyway, I just figured it was an interesting question and that if you want to answer it sensibly then this is how you might go about it if you had access to the data.
    Thanks

    We get hundreds of posts a day, sometimes a hundred questions a day. It's not remotely feasible or cost effective to create the meta data.
    This question is years old, and relatively few people see it. Certainly this could be off-putting or patronizing, and I agree. I was tempted to remove this early on, but left it as a place to vent.

    I have to agree.  Even if it was viable from a cost perspective, there isn't much to be gained from it and a lot to lose.  You don't want to put people off or punish them just for asking a question.  There are people who do that already and I wish they'd stop.

    Tally Tables - Performance Personified
    String Splitting with True Performance
    Best practices on how to ask questions

  • May 3, 2017 at 11:48 am

    #1940951

    Ohho! I just realized I'm an expert in something!

    "Brandie is an expert in translating PEBKAC BS into English and dissecting 'simple' requests down to their constituent components designed to showcase the business rules broken by these requests."

    Yes, I'm being a bit of a smart alec here, but seriously. We need more people educated in how to do this sort of thing. @=)

    Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

  • May 3, 2017 at 1:04 pm

    #1940974

    Brandie Tarvin - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 11:48 AM

    Ohho! I just realized I'm an expert in something!

    "Brandie is an expert in translating PEBKAC BS into English and dissecting 'simple' requests down to their constituent components designed to showcase the business rules broken by these requests."

    Yes, I'm being a bit of a smart alec here, but seriously. We need more people educated in how to do this sort of thing. @=)

    You mean that's not a core competency of being a developer or DBA?  Where have I been?

    Granted, you put the first sentence more eloquently than I would have, but it all translates the same.

    Tally Tables - Performance Personified
    String Splitting with True Performance
    Best practices on how to ask questions

  • May 3, 2017 at 1:16 pm

    #1940977

    Brandie Tarvin - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 11:48 AM

    Ohho! I just realized I'm an expert in something!

    "Brandie is an expert in translating PEBKAC BS into English and dissecting 'simple' requests down to their constituent components designed to showcase the business rules broken by these requests."

    Yes, I'm being a bit of a smart alec here, but seriously. We need more people educated in how to do this sort of thing. @=)

    So you mean translating the "I want it to do this" to "I need it to do this which is something completely different than what the "I want" was?"

  • May 3, 2017 at 1:21 pm

    #1940980

    jasona.work - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 1:16 PM

    Brandie Tarvin - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 11:48 AM

    Ohho! I just realized I'm an expert in something!

    "Brandie is an expert in translating PEBKAC BS into English and dissecting 'simple' requests down to their constituent components designed to showcase the business rules broken by these requests."

    Yes, I'm being a bit of a smart alec here, but seriously. We need more people educated in how to do this sort of thing. @=)

    So you mean translating the "I want it to do this" to "I need it to do this which is something completely different than what the "I want" was?"

    I experienced that exact phenomenon earlier today.

    Question: How long would it take to do X? 
    Me: Not bad, maybe a couple of hours.
    Question: Okay, when you change B, C and D...

    Note that B, C and D have nothing to do with X.  :w00t::w00t::w00t::crazy::angry:

    Tally Tables - Performance Personified
    String Splitting with True Performance
    Best practices on how to ask questions

  • May 3, 2017 at 1:24 pm

    #1940981

    OK, bit of a rant time...
    Trying to get SSIS Catalog working in a server migration, come to find out that while you can move the SSISDB between servers, yeah, it doesn't work when you go from SQL2012 to SQL2014, no instead you need to stand up an all-new Catalog on the SQL2014 and migrate the SSIS packages to it separately...
    To top it off, I suspect in part thanks to the locked-down servers around here, I can't change my SQL Server service account using the SQL Configuration Manager currently and because (again, the locked-down systems) the Virtual Service Account I *WANTED* to use for SQL Server is *MISSING* some of the *REQUIRED* OS privileges with no way for me to grant them so I have to switch to the AD service account from the old server, which I can't do because I can't get it to change in the bloody SCM!!!!

    Tell me again why I came to work here?

    Oh, wait, yeah, better bosses and pay.

  • May 3, 2017 at 1:56 pm

    #1940994

    jasona.work - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 1:24 PM

    OK, bit of a rant time...
    Trying to get SSIS Catalog working in a server migration, come to find out that while you can move the SSISDB between servers, yeah, it doesn't work when you go from SQL2012 to SQL2014, no instead you need to stand up an all-new Catalog on the SQL2014 and migrate the SSIS packages to it separately...
    To top it off, I suspect in part thanks to the locked-down servers around here, I can't change my SQL Server service account using the SQL Configuration Manager currently and because (again, the locked-down systems) the Virtual Service Account I *WANTED* to use for SQL Server is *MISSING* some of the *REQUIRED* OS privileges with no way for me to grant them so I have to switch to the AD service account from the old server, which I can't do because I can't get it to change in the bloody SCM!!!!

    Tell me again why I came to work here?

    Oh, wait, yeah, better bosses and pay.

    Job security. Maybe.

    Tally Tables - Performance Personified
    String Splitting with True Performance
    Best practices on how to ask questions

  • May 3, 2017 at 2:03 pm

    #1940997

    Brandie Tarvin - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 11:48 AM

    Ohho! I just realized I'm an expert in something!

    "Brandie is an expert in translating PEBKAC BS into English and dissecting 'simple' requests down to their constituent components designed to showcase the business rules broken by these requests."

    Yes, I'm being a bit of a smart alec here, but seriously. We need more people educated in how to do this sort of thing. @=)

    Well we wouldn't need this as a talent if business could produce people who would stop making absurd requests that break all their own rules. :w00t:

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

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    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
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    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • May 3, 2017 at 2:46 pm

    #1941002

    Jeff Moden - Tuesday, May 2, 2017 2:21 PM

    Do you know how to stand up a VM? 

    Yes. Hyper-V, VirtualBox, VMWare Player, would need assist from my network admin for a full VMWare one

    Can you do more that make a simple SSIS package like one that will cycle through files and do parallel imports based on the file names and or directory names? 

    Maybe, with enough time spent on google

    Do you know how to setup a matrix driven report in SSRS and color every other line as if it were "green bar" paper. 

    Nope

    Have you ever successfully setup a data warehouse for SSAS? 

    SS what?

    Do you know how to use Service Broker? 

    Yes, but I'd have to consult the documentation. The setup is not straightforward

    Can you setup log shipping or transactional replication? 

    Yes

    Can you shred simple XML without having to lookup how to do it? 

    Not a chance

    Do you think that "BI" is something other than an oxymoron? 😉

    Depends who's asking about it.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass

  • May 3, 2017 at 2:57 pm

    #1941004

    Here is a weird one...http://stackoverflow.com/questions/43769785/why-cant-i-select-nvarchar/43769813#43769813

    Could this really be the one we know from around here??

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • May 3, 2017 at 3:36 pm

    #1941010

    Could be, but if it is, why doesn't he/they answer questions here?

  • May 3, 2017 at 3:46 pm

    #1941011

    Apparently there are far too few people who know how to do green bar in an SSRS tablix...
    So here's how...

    1) Go to the Report Properties dialog box and select the Code tab and paste in the following code...

    Private bOddRow As Boolean
    '*************************************************************************
    ' -- Display green-bar type color banding in detail rows
    ' -- Call from BackGroundColor property of all detail row textboxes
    ' -- Set Toggle True for first item, False for others.
    '*************************************************************************
    Function AlternateColor(ByVal OddColor As String, _
       ByVal EvenColor As String, ByVal Toggle As Boolean) As String
      If Toggle Then bOddRow = Not bOddRow
      If bOddRow Then
       Return OddColor
      Else
       Return EvenColor
      End If
    End Function

    2) Put focus on the left-most cell in the details section and look for the "BackgroudColor" property in the properties section and paste in the following expression...

    =Code.AlternateColor("#d7e4f4", "Transparent", True)

    For all the remaining columns (2 - N) do the same thing but use a slightly different expression... (switch from "True" to "False")

    =Code.AlternateColor("#d7e4f4", "White", False)

    Congrats, you now have legit "green bar"... On in this case (using #d7e4f4) "blue bar".

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