Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

The older I get the less stock I put in merely pointing out flaws without offering solutions.

You might say "I don't need to be able to propose a solution in order to point out problems", and sure, but that's missing the point. Because by pointing out a problem, you are still implicitly asserting that some solution exists. And the counter to that is: no, no solution exists, and if you have no evidence in favor of your assertion that a solution exists, then I am allowed to counter with exactly as much evidence asserting that no solution exists.

Propose a solution if you want complaints to be taken seriously. More people pointing out the problems at this point contributes nothing; we all know everything is shit, what are you proposing we do about it?




Defining or clarifying the specifics of the problem is a critical step in solving (or not solving) it. We don't have a good understanding of all of the factors and how they contribute to this problem so having more people take a stab at understanding the problem and sharing that is a net positive. You may think that "we all know it already" but we don't. I discover new and meaningful ways that systems and people are fucking up software just about every year and have been for 25-30 years so I take strong issue with your "we all know" when clearly we don't, and in fact very much still disagree on the details of that problem, the very things we need to understand in order to best solve the problem.


My rather broad solution has always been: let engineers own a part of a stack. Let an engineer own the UI for an app, own the database front-end. Let an engineer own the caching mechanism, let an engineer own the framework.

You give an engineer ownership and let them learn from their own mistakes, rise to the occasion when the stakes are high. This presumes they will have the last word on changes to that sand box that they own. If they want to rewrite it — that's their call. I'm the end they'll create a codebase they're happy to maintain and we will all win.

(And I think they'll be a happier engineer too.)


But then... One of those engineers quit and another one becomes seriously ill and cannot work for a longer period of time...


Spoken like management, ha ha.

It happens. People step in and take over. The company continues.


> by pointing out a problem, you are still implicitly asserting that some solution exists

Weird take.


> Because by pointing out a problem, you are still implicitly asserting that some solution exists.

Um, no you're not.

> And the counter to that is: no, no solution exists,

If that's the case, it's probably helpful to know it.

> we all know everything is shit, what are you proposing we do about it?

Give up on whatever doomed goal you were trying to reach, instead of continuing to waste time on it?




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: