This is a commentary that resulted from this response to one of my posts. I am not trying to say that PsycoSpunk was guilty of the attitude that I am about to describe below. Instead, /s?he/ raised an issue that I've noticed has arisen several times before.

PsychoSpunk asked why I used ODBC and not FreeTDS. I have to confess that I have never heard of FreeTDS, but I use ODBC because that is a requirement at my company. I am modifying a rather large Web site for a company that's been around for quite a while and the modules that I am using (which use ODBC) are being reused by quite a number of different sites that they have created (that's why they're modules, huh?), and switching from ODBC to another technology is simply not feasible on the tight time frame that I am under.

Unfortunately, that's a real-world problem that many Monks appear to have missed. PsychoSpunk, I realize that you were just asking a question and weren't trying to start anything, but I see a lot of monks make statements like "Yeah, if I had to work with that, I'd just quit."

Some people have the luxury of jumping ship whenever they want whenever they don't get to work with the technology of their choice, others are in a position to choose the technology they want to work with. There are some, like myself, who find themselves in a job (new, in my case), where they are very happy with the working environment (everyone gets there own duck here. What more could I want?) but realize that not everything is what they want. Surprise, surprise! The world doesn't revolve around me.

I have another friend who's an NT admin who works at a job that he hates. However, the job pays well and they are willing to accomodate a nightmarish visitation schedule for his children that the courts imposed on him and his ex-wife. Unless he finds another job that's willing to jump through some pretty convoluted hoops, he's not going anywhere.

Monks who say "I would just quit" if they couldn't install the module they want, can't use the language they want, or are forced to work on an NT box are perfectly justified in quitting. However, I can hardly believe the scathing attitude they take towards others who are willing to (gasp!) compromise.

If you are one of the monks who has made "I would quit" comments to others here, why do you do it? Are you so good that you can get a job anywhere at the drop of the hat? Do you have no family that is dependant upon your income? DO you value job perfection so highly that you refuse to settle for anything less? Do you refuse to believe that others have different answers/values?

I know the above questions sound rather snide, but I genuinely want to hear what other monks have to say on this subject.

Cheers,
Ovid

Ovid realizes that many of his posts sound like preaching. Hmm...

Update: Just so there is no misunderstanding, PsychoSpunk did not intend for his question to come across as the "why aren't you doing it my way" type. I had no intention of this coming across as anything negative against /h(?:im|er)/. PsychoSpunk just jogged my memory. That's all.

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