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Re: http://www.hjrdba.com/

From: Sean <smckeown_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, 04 May 2002 15:52:32 GMT
Message-ID: <3CD403B1.EC986E74@earthlink.net>


[So much for me letting the thread die. So what, I'm a hypocrite. ;) ]

Nuno Souto wrote:
>
> So what? A simple disclaimer would have solved the issue. After that
> anyone who would have taken exception to anything in Howard's site would
> have been labelled an idiot if there was a lawyer with a brain looking
> into it.
>
> I can find errors in Metaclick as it is now. And heaps of errors in the
> Oracle manuals, along the many years they have been out. Yet nobody in
> its right mind would even attempt to sue Oracle for that. Why? because
> they make it very clear in their disclaimers that no such thing can
> happen. Exactly the same principle applies here.

Maybe, but whether this principle applies to this situation is hard to say without being a lawyer. We all know how much we hate it when a non-technical manager thinks he or she knows everything about Oracle, right? I'm just saying that as non-lawyers, we're just guessing here as to the extent of the issues here.  

> > Agreed. It was clearly a labor of love and a beneficial one at that.
> > However, if you think for a second that any other large tech company
> > would act any differently, you're sorely mistaken. All such companies
> > have a very careful QA process for releasing documentation to the
> > public.
>
> That is totally incorrect. There is no such process, there never was.
> I've worked with Oracle and many, many other companies in the last 25
> years and I can tell you upfront there is no such process ANYWHERE! Most
> of the stuff IT companies put out doesn't even get proof read, let alone
> quality assured!

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree then. When I look at my Oracle manuals - let's take the 3-volume 9i SQL Reference manual to start with - I see some pretty high-quality material. Were I to count up the numbers of pages without errors vs. those with errors, I'd bet ratio would be upwards of 1000:1 or higher (when's the last time you filed a legitmate documentation bug?). Same goes for my Solaris manuals. And HP/UX. That's not just random luck. Somebody is being very careful about checking what goes into those documents.

> Should Oracle ask all of them to shut up as well? When is a web presence
> sanctioned by Oracle? Where is the line drawn exactly? Why would Oracle
> be even remotely interested in only having "official" web sites on the
> web?

I have no idea.

> The amount of stuff in Howard's site was very small compared to what can
> be obtained from proper Oracle training. There is not even a point in
> saying that Oracle's education income would suffer from sites like his.

When did anyone say that? Do you know something we don't, or are you just guessing at the reasoning behind the decision?

Did I like the site? Yes. Am I sorry it's gone? Yes. Do I know much more than that about the decisions involved? Nope. Do I wish now that I'd kept my trap shut and not speculated? Most definitely.

Regards,
Sean

[My views do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.] Received on Sat May 04 2002 - 10:52:32 CDT

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