RE: "running with scissors"

[grackle]

Hi, everyone. I'm a newbie, and since most of the people putting in their two cents on this issue seem like seasoned Perlers, I thought I'd give everyone the benefit of my ignorance and inexperience.

First, let me say that I've been around the block enough times to be insulted when people don't point out my mistakes. It means they think I can't do any better, or it means they don't care enough to help me.

No one seems to disagree with merlyn about the insecurity and unreliability of the code he criticizes. If it's insecure and unreliable, why is merlyn the only one who bothers to point out these things? I can understand his frustration if other monks are letting this stuff pass.

Please, folks, don't vote down a post that makes a valid and important point just because it's a little curmudgeonly. It's okay to be wrong, it's okay to write bad code. It's okay, that is, as long as you know that you screwed up. When people screw up, merlyn lets them know.

To be consistent with my first point, merlyn, I'll have to fault you for your lack of diplomacy. To me (a newbie), your rants remind me of the joke about the frustrated old kindergarten teacher:

"I've been teaching them to read for thirty years.
You'd think they would get it by now."

It doesn't help to get a little bit more sarcastic every time you repeat something. It often takes less time to inform than to complain. Instead of "running with scissors," try "insecure see (link)." Or you could even give a short but complete explanation for newbies (moi) who haven't dealt with the issue before. You have a talent for conciseness when you have your sarcasm under control.