http://qs321.pair.com?node_id=96942


in reply to AmIAGuruOrNot.com

With all due respect japhy, this post insults me. Not that I take it personally, but more, I find it surprising and embarassing to see content like this on Perl Monks (as if meta-conversation on the voting and experience system wasn't enough).

If it makes you feel any better, I don't think you're a guru. :)

I do, however, acknowledge that you do have good Perl skills (certainly far more advanced than I, but I know other languages fairly well -- they're just crappy ones that I'm too embarassed to admit to though :), but I consider "gurus" to be more along the lines of the Larry Walls, Guido Van Rossums, and Dennis Ritchies of the world (exceedingly creative people, that have significantly changed the face of computing).

To be able to spout out answers that can pretty much always be found in the documentation suggests that the answerer has a stronger desire to learn than the questioner, but doesn't suggest that the answerer possesses any supreme ability.

Also, your comment about "racing against people with polio" is a poor one at best. It's rude (I can't imagine how I would have reacted to seeing this if I was a person who suffered from this...it's bad enough that the mother of a friend of mine does have this disease), and unbecoming of a decent person to talk like that. Of all the other analogies you could have made, this one was ridiculous.

An apology would be in order.

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Re: AmIAGuruOrNot.com
by MeowChow (Vicar) on Jul 16, 2001 at 09:04 UTC
    (note to self: brace for impact / --'s)
    To be able to spout out answers that can pretty much always be found in the documentation ... doesn't suggest that the answerer possesses any supreme ability.

    I believe this is exactly japhy's point. The only truly valuable recognition is that which comes from people whom one respects and admires, not from those who haven't even troubled themselves to read the documentation.

    Also, your comment ... is a poor one at best. It's rude ... and unbecoming of a decent person to talk like that. An apology would be in order.
    I like to pride myself (for better or worse) on usually steering clear of monestary politics. That said, can we all stop being so damn sensitive around here? There's no need for these moralizing, politically correct lynchings of harmless (yes, harmless) comments.

    All I'm saying is, relax, and remember we're here to learn and have fun, not to niggle over imaginary or hypothetical slights. 

       MeowChow                                   
               s aamecha.s a..a\u$&owag.print
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Re: Re: AmIAGuruOrNot.com
by japhy (Canon) on Jul 16, 2001 at 07:19 UTC
    I've changed the node, and apologized. I also ++'ed this node, at which point I found it's reputation to be 0. That puzzles me.

    mothra's node was honest, and it was rather proper. I do feel like a bastard for using a polio reference in the node, and I understand the point made. I don't see why such a post would be downvoted.

    I rarely post about node reputation, but this is an exception. I don't understand why this node deserves negative reaction.

    _____________________________________________________
    Jeff japhy Pinyan: Perl, regex, and perl hacker.
    s++=END;++y(;-P)}y js++=;shajsj<++y(p-q)}?print:??;

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Re: Re: AmIAGuruOrNot.com
by suaveant (Parson) on Jul 16, 2001 at 22:50 UTC
    I would have to disagree with you on the guru definition, I would define a guru as someone who has reached a plateau of understanding somthing greater than typical use of something permits... If gurus were only those at the very top of the chain of your particular interest, then where would the poor pilgrims of perl go for enlightenment... Larry is far too busy to help them all :) I would almost say that guru comes at a point when it becomes easier to give answers than to find them, or at least to guide than be guided. I would say that Japhy is a guru... and you need not know all of perl to be a guru... he certainly knows his regexps... I don't know about the other stuff he does, but that is enough for me.

    But this is just my opinion. It just seems to fit into the Genuine Indian Guru (Dr. Hook, Cover of the Rolling Stone) sense of the word... not that it is really important :)

                    - Ant

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