jConnor wrote:I don't think the thread originally titled "To those looking for programmers: Word of Warning!" should be closed.
I appreciate your saying so, and have merged your post into the main thread.
In the future, if you disagree with a moderator's decision to close a thread please write to the moderator with your request rather than continuing the thread under a new name. It saves the moderator a little extra work. Thanks.
There is some value along the lines of "checks and balances."
Agreed, which is why I was in favor of keeping it open until the only two responses I got were to close it. I appreciate yours, and have reopened the thread.
Here were have an opportunity to explore these "checks and balances":
As a developer myself there are many valid reasons why a deadline could be missed. Sometimes this is because of fuzzy requirements which points right back to the customer. So the customer isn't always right and sometimes you have to let them go...moreover, I think Bodape's disclosure of the contractor's name was inappropriate, although he's already apologized.
With that said, I find it INEXCUSABLE to take somebody's money and then go silent, even after the posting. It's selfish and affects other developers here.
Assuming, of course, that's what actually happened.
The caveats you listed are reasonable and may indeed be relevant in this case. There may be many more such details that can affect project outcomes as well.
I think we all agree that taking money and disappearing wouldn't be right. But given that no evidence of any kind has been provided, we have no way to know that's actually what happened.
You could make the same unsbustantiated character assasination about me, and I of you, and both of us of Klaus, and all those words would have equal merit.
Not everything you read on the Internet is true.
Some of it may be. Some of may not be. There's simply no way to know how much of the claims written here are true, and based on what has been presented it seems highly likely there are relevant details, like the ones you noted and possibly more, that have not been disclosed here.
Like InfoCentral, I was also surprised that nobody showed any sympathy for the customer and focused on defending the developer and attacking the angry customer, as opposed to encouraging the former to set things right --or even turn this into "an opportunity."
Speaking only for myself, I have no opinion about the claims made by "Bodape" other than noting that they are anonymous and unsubstantiated, and the implications of such choices.
Have you ever seen the Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street"? It's a good one, worth enjoying in its own right and a useful reminder about moments like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJyaBxYjWcQ
BTW, I chose to disclose my name, but it is not uncommon to use pseudo-names, so I really don't get the fuzz about Bodape's. With all due respect, I do find this forum a bit too close for comfort. I hope that the silent majority can be allowed to feel free to express their opinions without feeling shut down by the dominant few.
Me too.
Using handles on the web is common and useful. This forum is pretty much like most others: some folks know each other well, others are meeting for the first time; some use a handle, some use their name. It's all good. All members here are free to choose these things for themselves.
If someone chooses to be anonymous I see no harm in that at all - unless they're posting disparaging comments about another person and use that person's name. Had the anonymous poster granted the same anonymity to his subject the responses here would have been very different, as even Bodape himself has acknowledged.
Fortunately such circumstances are rare, and I hope it stays that way.
FWIW, as far as I can tell "Bodape" has not posted before this thread or since, and it seems the person named there hasn't visited the forums since before this thread was started. We may never know the details that would be necessary for any of us to form a worthwhile opinion on the specific issue presented.
So to avoid becoming the monsters on Maple Street, I see a more productive future for this thread in focusing on the broader scope of client/contractor conflicts in general, such as:
- How can such conflict be avoided?
- How can conflict best be resolved once it occurs?
- How should we handle scope changes?
- How should we handle personal injury, illness, natural disasters, or other force majeure that might affect delivery timelines?
- Who pays for increased costs due to bugs in Rev, the OS, drivers, or some other component beyond the control of the client or the contractor?
- How can we ensure email doesn't get trapped in spam filters?
- Should projects always have a written agreement?
These and many other related topics seem well worth exploring here.
